


Light Unwavering: A Wilumity Destiny AU

by InfiniteGrowth



Series: Light Unwavering: A Wilumity Destiny AU [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games), The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Belly Expansion, Belly Kink, Big Bellies are Popular, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, Child Soldiers, F/F, F/M, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Gay Willow Park, Lots of guns, Luz Noceda Angst, Multi, Polyamory, Resurrection, Slow Burn, Some OCs are There too, Sometimes They Die, Sometimes They come back, Stuffing, The Last City (Destiny), They Only Look Pregnant, big bellies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:27:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteGrowth/pseuds/InfiniteGrowth
Summary: Light Unwavering is an AU crossover of The Owl House and Destiny franchises. The story follows 14 year old Luz Noceda who was recently revived from the dead as a New Light Guardian. New Lights may give off the classic "kid/teen out to save the world" vibe, but their enhanced abilities are nothing to sneeze at.After being thrown into the deep end, Luz Noceda needs to step up and become the warrior she knows she could be, while also refining her own special Light.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda/Willow Park, Luz Noceda/Willow Park
Series: Light Unwavering: A Wilumity Destiny AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147994
Comments: 14
Kudos: 13





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is my first fanfic, so feel free to comment on it. I'd love to hear what some people think, where it can be improved upon, possible theories on where the story could go, etc. I might go back and rework some bits here and there, but I'll keep that to an absolute minimum.
> 
> Also a Warning because the following is a fetish story. There won't be sex or anything like that, but if belly expansion or stuffing isn't your thing turn back now.

A chilly breeze covered the battle torn lands during the early afternoon. A once bustling highway was nothing but a graveyard of metal, trash, and bones. Parts of the manmade structure were long since reclaimed by mother nature over the past centuries.

A short but round figure made her way through the debris. Her body was cloaked in extravagant red clothing with golden trim, her exposed midsection hung like a heavy basketball on her lower torso, but her mind barely registered the weight anymore. At her side was her most trusty weapon, a white and red firearm with the word SUROS on the side of the barrel.

The girl glanced over her shoulder from behind the golden visor of her helmet. A fist sized entity floated not too far away from her, bathing every set of remains with a gentle blue light before moving onto the next.

The girl had seen plenty of Ghosts, messengers of The Traveler and access points of The Light. This energy flowed through her body as well. It was a constant aura from within, and gave off a feeling of warmth from her belly whenever her mind focused on it. She could gather it, build it up, and release it in ways that many would call magic.

For now though, the girl let it out in gentle waves that were invisible to the naked eye. Each tiny pulse was like sonar, allowing her to be on the lookout for possible foes in the European Dead Zone. While it didn’t give her the perfect map of the land, any agent of The Darkness would have a hard time sneaking up on her in this state.

The duo continued down the broken highway for another half a mile, surveying remains after remains before the tiny floating bot let out a chirping sound. The figure noted how much more animated they had become.

“Is this it?” the short girl asked as she mindlessly readjusted her grip on her auto rifle.

“Affirmative. She’s the one. I can feel it.” The little machine turned around to face the robe wearing person. “Thank you for guiding me here.”

The figure nodded and replied “You’re Welcome Ghost.”

“May I ask one last favor? Take care of this new Guardian.”

The person let out a small sigh. “I cannot promise you much, only that she will make it to The Last City. You have my word.”

“That will suffice. May The Traveller guide you.”

“Same to you, servant of The Light.” the girl replied. She took a step back as the Ghost started to glow. Soon it disappeared into a blinding ball of light that gently lowered onto the torso of a partial skeleton. The bones shined with such intensity that even behind her visor the girl had to close her eyes for just a brief moment.

When the light faded, what was left was another person, probably around her age based on their height and proportions. She wore a skin tight grey two piece bodysuit, boots, and gloves. Her now rather round midsection and her face were the only things exposed to the elements. The slight curve in her hips were definitely feminine, but what was the most striking was her rich tan skin and dark chocolate brown short hair.

The girl on the ground started to stir moments before her rich brown eyes shot open in pure fear. She leapt up into a sitting position, or the closest thing possible given her basketball sized middle, and let out a startling scream. Her breathing quickly became forced and labored, and beads of sweat appeared on the girl’s forehead. The poor kid was about to dry heave over her own belly.

The girl in red tapped her rifle once on the side to make it vanish into what seemed like nothingness before she knelt down to gently but firmly grab the panicking girl’s shoulders. “Calm down. Breathe. Just breathe slowly. In...and out...”

She continued her ‘ins and outs’ a few more times. Stopping only once the dark haired girl’s breathing became more controlled. “Good. Now, what’s your name? What do you remember?”

“M-My name?” the other girl replied, looking at the crimson clad soldier with her chocolate dipped eyes. She hissed as a sharp pain shot through her skull for a few moments. “Oww...I’m..L-Luz? Yeah I’m Luz! Luz Noceda.”

“Very good Luz. You can call me Blight.” Blight stood up and extended a hand to Luz. The latter gently took it before she was hauled to her feet.

“Ok. What’s going on?! Who are you?! How did I get here?! Why am I fat?!” Luz’s following gasp was thankfully what her lungs needed so she could pause to take a breath. “Wait, was I DEAD?!”

“I’ll explain more later, but the short answers in order…” Blight raised a hand and counted off with her fingers. “...You’re a Guardian now, I’m Blight, a Ghost brought you back to life, the Ghost Remnant made your tummy huge, and yes you were dead.”

“Okay then…” Luz replied with a chipper tone before her own left hand slowly reached up and swiped across her face with an audible SMACK. “OW!...Ok , so I’m definitely not dreaming.” She paused before she turned slowly around.

Back in the car where her bones once were, was the remains of another skeleton. Luz reached down and picked up a tarnished gold ring. The etchings were almost impossible to see, but Luz could recognize it anywhere. Her body began to shake but she did her best to calm herself this time.

“Mami…” Luz sniffled. It had to be her. Sure most of the car had decayed into a shell of its former self, but Luz could still picture it in her mind. Her eyes even picked out the same dent on the side from where that one guy backed his oversized truck into it. Her mom was more than a little livid that day. Luz felt Blight’s comforting hand on her shoulder.

Suddenly the girls heard a shrill cry from the West. Blight could feel the presence of dark forces on the move.

“We can’t stay out here in the open Luz. C’mon.” Blight said before she summoned her auto rifle once more. She then made her way up the road towards a rundown building.

Luz took one last look towards the broken sedan that her past life ended in. She felt a set of words slip past her lips as she took off after this strange girl.

“Lo siento Mami. Te prometo que volveré. Te quiero.”

~~~

Luz found Blight inside the storehouse. The latter checked her rifle before she placed it to the side.

“How are you holding up?”

“Could be better, Blight. Could be much better.” Luz responded while she rubbed her arm shyly. At least her nerves had settled somewhat after that brisk run to catch up.

“Thankfully the Fallen are still a ways out. We’ve got a little bit of time before we cross paths with them.”

Blight noticed the dark haired girl’s head tilt to one side. “Fallen?”

“Agents of The Darkness. Basically they are four armed creatures that are more than happy to turn our bellies into swiss cheese. You’ll need a weapon. Here, you can have this.” As Blight raised her right hand over her left forearm, a glowing AR construct appeared. Luz saw a tiny screen with various forms of information and graphs.

“Whoooa….” Luz said as her eyes grew slightly with childish wonder. “So cool! It’s just like a video game!”

“Okay Luz, now let's set up an initial Ghost Link. Just gently push your tummy into mine.”

Luz nodded before she stepped close to Blight and gently leaned forwards. She blushed a little as their round middles made contact, a bit surprised at how warm the other girl was. Blight felt herself being nudged ever so slightly, but stood firm. Both of their exposed bellies gave off a slight orange glow, and Luz had to hold back a giggle from the slight tingling sensation that pulsed through her.

“Link established.” Blight said. She put a hand on Luz’s tummy and gave it a few small pats. The latter took the hint and stepped away.

A few moments later Luz’s own left arm flashed before a similar construct appeared on her arm. The word ‘Transfer?’ with the options to accept or not. Luz didn’t have to think once, let alone twice, before she pressed accept.

The glows disappeared before Luz felt the grip of a pistol in her hands. It was surprisingly heavy, but well balanced in her palm. The gun had a beige barrel with an orange body. It’s overall profile was rather angular and blocky, and had a word along the side of it.

“Haku...Hak-...Heck...Hokko?” muttered Luz as she got more and more confused with each attempt.

Blight rolled her eyes inside of her helmet. “It’s pronounced Hakke (ha-kay). It’s the name of a weapon’s company, like how mine says SUROS. It’s a sturdy 120 RPM hand cannon. Fires slow, but can pop a Dreg’s head off with a single round.”

Luz fiddled with the blocky tool in her hands a bit, clearly something else on her mind.

“Shouldn’t I be like...older to be using one of these?” Luz asked.

Blight’s brain wasn’t quite following. “What? What does that have to do with anything Luz?”

“Mami always told me I was too young to handle hers. I mean I’m not exactly 18 and-”

The other girl let out a small groan as she rubbed the side of her helmet. “By the Traveler... Look I need to know whether you can use that thing or not.”

Luz took a breath and released it slowly. This was all still pretty sudden to her. She could barely remember anything, and she’s now somehow back to life and fat? Luz stroked her new round tummy before she came to the conclusion that she’ll sort this stuff out later. She looked up and nodded.

“Shoot some monsters in the face? Yes Blight I think I can handle that.” Luz answered with a bit of a confident smirk. “I got the highest score in Space Marines 4 at Chubby Cheddars.”

Not the best answer Blight has heard, but it was good enough. “That will suffice, because they’re coming.” the girl in cardinal and gold said as she took a spot by a nearby window. The cry from before was now one of many. “Tap the side of your head and imagine a helmet. You may be more durable now but bullets still hurt the same.”

Luz did what she was told and a grey sci-fi helmet materialized around her head. It was surprisingly comfortable on the inside and fit the contours of her face without being too tight in any way. As she glanced back to Blight, virtual markers appeared around the other girl that showed off her name and that of her weapon, the [SUROS Regime](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.primagames.com/images/news/how_to_get_suros_regime_in_destiny_2_header.jpg). Luz looked at the hand cannon in her grip and saw [Hakke Test-A](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2BO-WizwZ0I/maxresdefault.jpg), just like Blight described it. There was even a counter for the number of bullets in the magazine along with what she had in reserves.

Luz heard Blight’s voice through her helmet now. “Listen up Rookie. Take aim, and on my signal we’ll take out the Captain at the same time. They are the biggest ones. Once it’s down the rest will panic.”

“Ok.” Luz replied as she crouched near another broken window. As she peeked outside, a group of 5 or so creatures emerged from behind the broken cars and trees. The first few that appeared were small, around their height, with leather armor covered in metal patchwork. They carried small pistols and knives at the ready. Icons appeared above their heads, labeling them as Dregs.

The ones behind them were taller, carrying strange looking rifles. They were tagged as ‘Vandals’ on Luz’s hud. They stayed well off to the side, heads on a swivel while the dregs scavenged nearby cars.

Luz felt her nerves starting to rise again, but she was handling them better this time. “Over there…” Blight’s voice said into her ear.

Luz’s gaze shifted back and forth until she saw it. Towering well above the others was a massive Fallen Captain. It wore bone colored white armor, had a large spiky crest, and carried a scary looking shotgun. A tattered red cloak with a strange symbol hung over it’s left shoulder as the Captain confidently strode into the clearing.

The dark haired girl’s anxiety started to spike rapidly. Luz held back a hiss as her head felt like it was trying to split in half. More flashes from her past zipped by like a randomized highlight reel. Some of her birthdays, times at school, the chaos on the road as society fell apart around them.

“Ok.” Blight said as she placed the crosshair of her rifle on the enemy. “Take aim and get ready Luz.” A few tense moments went by without a response. “Luz?”

The screams, the overwhelming fear, the sight of her mother’s face contorting in pain as the pair were torn apart by iron hot projectiles, it felt all too real as the memories of her death hit Luz like a semi-truck.

Her mother Camilla, normally a pillar of support, was a single parent who kept them afloat financially and emotionally after her father died. Sure they weren’t always...ok they were RARELY ever on the same page, practically oil and water, but dammit Luz loved her mother with all her heart!

_How could they?! Those...Those monsters!_

Luz’s heart thumped louder in her chest.

_Mami and I just wanted to go somewhere safe! To get away!_

The blood rushed to her ears, trapping the girl in her own mind.

_WE JUST WANTED TO LIVE!!_

It didn’t matter if this was the same Fallen or not, Luz’s blood was practically boiling under her skin as her heart thumped a mile a minute. Blight was barely able to ask about Luz’s labored breathing before the dark haired girl dashed out of the building with a primal scream.

The Guardian in red was almost flabbergasted as she saw Luz fire bullet after bullet, wildly missing most of her shots aside from nailing one of the Dregs in its left eye through sheer dumb luck. Blight was sure Luz’s target was the Fallen Captain, but if Luz got too close the inexperienced fighter would be easily torn apart by its Shrapnel Launcher. Not to mention the Vandals and other Fallen already taking aim. Luz let out a scream as a blue bolt of energy from one of the Vandals pierced the side of her left shoulder.

Pouring extra strength into her legs, Blight launched herself through the broken window. She chucked a grenade to the left, keeping an eye on Luz who fell behind a nearby broken stone wall for cover. The fist sized ball of flame stuck to the chest of one of the Vandals before exploding two seconds later.

Her SUROS let out a high pitched whine as the inner workings started to rev like a souped up race car. Seconds later it roared to life, showering the remaining dregs in a hailstorm of hot lead. She ducked and slid underneath a plasma bolt before she flicked a switch on the side of her rifle. The gun made a more steady and controlled sound before she took aim and placed a trio of hyper accurate bullets into the remaining Vandal’s skull and the tree behind it.

Luz grit her teeth as waves of intense pain shot through her body. She instinctively covered the wound on her shoulder as she mentally kicked herself. _Nice going Noceda! Talk about a death wish!_

The area erupted into chaos. Luz turned her head to see Blight going to town on most of the Fallen squad. She ducked and weaved, almost dancing around the incoming projectiles like a middleweight boxer with a huge gun in her hands. In less than 15 seconds all that remained was the Fallen Captain Luz failed miserably in trying to kill.

Compared to the others, the Fallen Captain would not go down easily. The crimson cloaked Guardian rolled to the right, barely avoiding a flurry of red hot buckshot. When she fired back with her rifle, some of her bullets hit a glowing Arc shield that appeared around her enemy before the Captain vanished into cover in a white aura.

“It teleports!” Luz squeaked. Her helmet let out a beep before she saw the words ‘Health: 100%’ flash for a moment. Luz’s brain registered the lack of pain, and as she removed her hand from her shoulder the wound had more or less closed up. She caught a glimpse of her suit’s fabric seal itself as well. It was still a bit sore, but she could pick up her gun once again.

Luz got back on her feet. “Hang on I’m coming!”

“No! Stay down!” Blight barked back, causing Luz to flinch. “I’ve got this!”

“B-But I can he-”

“I said STAY DOWN!”

Luz winced as the feedback rang in her ears. She watched as the red wearing Guardian chucked another grenade near the area where the Captain warped too, but the creature jumped again to evade before it fired back.

Blight swapped her gun for a different weapon this time. Her white tool vanished into thin air before a sleek sniper rifle landed in her hands. It had mostly red and white body with a narrow barrel and black scope. The tag ‘[Antinomy XVI](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/destinypedia/images/5/5b/AntinomyXVI.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20151001185353)’ appeared on Luz’s visor.

With a well placed shot, the Captain’s shields were broken. The Arc energy that powered it overloaded and exploded, tearing off bits of the stunned enemy’s armor and sending it down on one knee.

“And we’re done here…” Blight exhaled before she placed a final bullet between the Captains four eyes. It’s head exploded in all directions before the body slumped forwards on the ground.

Luz had to admit, the way Blight took them all down was something Luz could only describe as amazing, even extraordinary. Not a single move was wasted or without purpose.

Blight noticed Luz come over. The fledgling Guardian practically bounced with excitement. “That! Was! So! AWESOME!”

Despite the compliment, the other Guardian’s mind was focused on something else. She shot up onto her feet and glared down at Luz from behind her helmet. With Blight being noticeably taller, Luz felt like she was dealing with an angry red volcano.

“Do you have any idea what you just did?! You completely disobeyed orders, got shot, and almost got Downed completely! What were you thinking?! This isn't just some stupid video game!” she yelled.

Luz flinched once more and looked away in shame. She crossed her arms around her chest as if she was shot there instead. Her voice was low, filled with regret. “I-I...I’m sorry…”

“It’s just...well… you saw the car right? My...Mami was in there. That’s…” Luz shuddered and took a few breaths to keep herself from getting worse. “That’s where she...we died. The Fallen killed us. When I saw them out there I…” Luz’s head hung lower. “...just lost it. I’m really sorry.”

The other girl said nothing for a while before her own emotions were eventually back under control. Luz’s earlier actions made much more sense now. Blight looked off to the side before she let out a sigh. It wasn’t the first time she’s seen a fellow Guardian lose their cool, and they at least had some time to sort themselves out.

Luz however was still as green as they come, and it was Blight's job to get this tan skinned baby chick to at least make it to the Last City in one piece. After that Luz was on her own. The same was done for her after all those years ago.

Blight put a hand on her cocked hip. “Ok. I know this is a lot, trust me, but I need you to focus on the now. Once we get to The Last City, you’ll have time to talk to one of the counselors. To really let it out. It’ll help immensely.”

“Ok. I promise, no more going off the deep end.” Luz fiddled with her Hakke hand cannon a bit before she looked back up at the other girl. “I’ll follow your lead.”

~~~  
As the two went on their way once more, Luz was silent for the first half hour before her traveling partner asked her about any other questions she had. Once that conversation got going, Luz learned how much of a walking encyclopedia Blight actually was.

Everything from what the Traveler was, who the Vanguard were, the different Guardan classes, weapon types, and even the difference between using Glimmer as a currency compared to using it as engine fuel found its way into some part of Luz’s brain. She even asked plenty of follow up questions, absorbing what info she could like a sponge in the hopes of getting back into Blight’s good graces.

Before long Luz was nursing a mild headache from that cram session. On the one hand she regretted those last half dozen questions, but on the other had Luz felt like she was getting somewhere positive with the other girl. It was pretty hard to tell as Blight never once removed her helmet.

"Say Blight, one last question?"

The exquisitely dressed Warlock turned to look at Luz. "Yes?"

"Could you...show me what you look like?" Luz asked. She tapped the side of her helmet, exposing her dark eyes and hair once more.

Blight appeared to be contemplating it for a moment before she shook her head and kept moving. "I'd rather not. I prefer to keep things professional while on the job. It's easier that way..."

The way the other girl's voice trailed off at the end led Luz to believe there was more to that statement, but she decided not to press it. Luz caught a glint of something off to her left.

"Hold on a minute." Luz went over to the side. Upon further inspection, the girl found a large black box with a red cover on top. "Hey Blight come look at this!"

"It's an abandoned Cabal cache." Blight said as she waddled over. She gave it a few taps. "Lucky this one wasn't booby trapped. Go ahead and check what's inside. Could be useful."

Luz smiled before she pressed a button on the front of the box. The red covering slid open to reveal a stack of tiny blue glowing cubes. In the center was a much larger blue sphere made of hexagons.

Luz was just about to open her mouth before she thankfully remembered it was called an Engram. She picked up the Engram and held it carefully before the object glowed. Her exposed tummy glowed in response. Moments later a weapon appeared out of the Engram. Luz noticed the Glimmer disappeared as well, and she got a message on her helmet about 1500 Glimmer added to her wallet.

"Slingshot MS3. Energy type. Void Element." Luz said as she examined the item that was automatically added to her inventory. It was a lever action shotgun with a sleek blue body and a pair of dark purple stripes down the side. Luz also noticed the word OMOLON on the buttstock.

"Well at least I've got something else to fight with now." Luz tapped the weapon, making it disappear into her belly. Meanwhile she kept her Hakke at the ready before she reset her helmet and continued to follow the other Guardian.

After about another half mile of waddling, the duo made it to an old radio tower. Blight stopped in front of a console. She checked it out and brought power to the unit, bringing the emerald colored screen to life.

“Alright, now let's give this a try. Remember what I said before about Ghost Abilities?” asked Blight.

Luz tapped her chin in thought for a bit before she nodded. “I think so. That’s the cool hack powers right?”

“That’s one of them. Your transmat, item switching, healing factor, and auto-revive all tie into the Ghost Remnant inside your tummy.” Blight gave her ally’s belly a gentle poke, evoking a short and cute giggle from Luz. “As long as you have Light flowing through your body, you can perform any of those things.” explained the girl in red. She stepped back from the console. “Here. Try to use Ghost Link on this to get access to the Vanguard Network.”

The younger Guardian nodded before she placed her hand on the console. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the ‘warmth in her belly’ like how Blight explained earlier. Luz wasn’t quite sure at first, but magical space powers were as crazy as anything else she has been through today.

The feeling that came to her was almost like her round gut turned into a space heater. It started out faint and small, but quickly grew more noticeable with each controlled breathe she took. She felt The Light gently hum through every cell in her body before it pulsed out from her hand and into the console.

“I think I did it!” Luz said as she checked her helmet visor. “Ok. I’m getting a marker on my radar telling me to go North East from here. Some place called ‘The Farm’?”

Blight gave Luz a nod. “Good. Anything else?”

“Something about a Sparrow. Is that useful?”

“Very.” Blight stepped back before she tapped the virtual interface on her forearm a few times. A shimmering light appeared beneath the girl as she lifted up a few feet into the air. She came back down straddled on top of a hovering machine with a golden eagle head on the front with high handlebars similar to a Harley Davidson. Similar to the girl’s armor, it was mainly a deep red color with dazzling gold accents. A white triangular symbol was on the hood of the vehicle.

Blight almost sighed as her butt settled into the durable but soft seat. This was her 5th mission this week, and while she found her body quite tough, even a Guardian feels fatigue. She turned the right handle bar a little as the two massive jet engines on her Sparrow roared.

“Ooooohohoho! Mama want!” Luz said with glee before she eventually brought up her own arrow shaped Sparrow. It wasn’t as fancy as Blight’s with its dull green and grey colors, like a stock sedan compared to one with all the bells and whistles, but this one was hers. The long seat along its spine even lowered into a gentle curve that made it easy to rest her stomach on as she leaned forward on the machine. Like a cute egg on a pillow.

“I’ll get you your own fancy paint job later...maybe some cool decals...” she whispered lovingly to her little space bike as she patted it on the side. Her companion rolled her eyes behind her helmet while Luz tested the engine as well. Her excitement rose each time the small but hearty jets spewed flames out the back.

Blight was the first to take off down the open road. Luz swerved back and forth after going full blast out of the gate, but she caught on quickly and zipped past Blight with a resounding whoop.

Blight had to fight the urge to roll her eyes once more before she maxed out her own throttle and gave chase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A rough translation of what Luz said.
> 
> “Lo siento Mami. Te prometo que volveré. Te quiero.” = I'm sorry Mom. I promise I'll come back. I love you."


	2. From the Country to the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz and Blight save a caravan. Luz sees something worth chasing.
> 
> (WARNING: This story contains characters with expanded bellies. If that's not your thing then turn back now.)

The two Guardians were able to make great time following the road out of The Gulch. They cut their speed just a bit to save on fuel, but there was another tank of sorts that Luz felt was empty.

“Ugh...How can I feel so full yet so empty at the same time?” said Luz. The young girl gently stroked her tummy with her left hand as more hunger pangs made themselves known. She glanced over to the person riding at her side. “The Light can’t be used to summon fried chicken out of thin air right?”

For the first time, Luz heard Blight chuckle through the com link. It was short and almost like a scoff, but she picked up on it anyway. “That would be useful, but no. Slow down a bit. I’ve got some protein bars on me. Eat while you ride.”

Luz looked over the silver wrapped rectangle that Blight tossed her way. After removing her helmet, the girl tore off the packaging with her teeth to reveal its greyish brown center. While the taste wasn’t anything to write home about, Luz felt that the nutrient packed sustenance was enough to at least keep her gut quiet for another few hours.

The tan skinned girl let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks Blight. That really hit the spot!” Luz shot Blight a pair of finger guns before her brain reminded her about the sparrow and she quickly had to correct her flight path. “Ah!”

“Seriously Luz. You’re lucky I’m the one practically holding your hand at this point.” said Blight.

Luz gave a weak chuckle as she caught up to her ally. “Yeah…”

Blight heard a few tones in her headset before the words ‘Distress Call’ appeared on the periphery of her vision. She patched Luz in before she answered.

“Attention all available Guardians in the area! This is Aliya! Our caravan is under siege by Cabal! Many are wounded and we can’t hold out much longer!” The voice became static for a beat as an explosion went off. “Send help! Please! I repeat! Attention all Gua-” the woman said before the communication sharply ended.

Both girls saw a new marker on the HUDs pointing further North. It was obvious to the other Guardian what Luz was thinking. “We gotta help them!”

“Affirmative.” Blight responded before she whipped her sparrow to the left and down a steep incline with Luz in hot pursuit.

The sounds of explosions and gunfire grew as the Guardians made their way over a hill. Looking down, they saw a platoon of heavily armored creatures with large bodies. Even the Legionaries, the so-called “grunts”, towered over most regular people. Some carried massive shields while a few charged on ahead with swords bigger than Luz’s own sparrow. Even from a distance, Luz felt like she was facing down literal elephants. These had to be the Cabal.

“Dios mío, ellas son ENORMES!” Luz yelled.

“Keep it together Rookie!” Blight shouted. Despite having no idea what the other Guardian was saying exactly, she had a pretty solid guess. “We have to drive them away from the caravan! Hit ‘em hard and fast!”

Both girls maxed out their Sparrows to get ahead of the Cabal. They weaved through the gunfire between both parties before taking up a strong position.

“The Guardians are here! Back them up!” a woman yelled as she let loose with her revolver. Based on her voice, it had to be Aliya. The few other adults who were still capable were scattered about, fighting back with different rifles and frag grenades.

Luz and Blight took out their weapons and fired, taking out a few Legionaries with ease. Blight also noticed how light on her feet Luz was now that the dark haired girl was more focused. Even Luz’s hand cannon shots were a lot more controlled and accurate. When the weaker Cabal enemies got close, Luz swapped to her new Slingshot shotgun, putting well deserved holes into them with the help of some powerful slug rounds.

But of course, Blight had no plans to get outdone by the newbie. With most of the rank and file enemies gunning for Luz on the right, she darted around to the left and concentrated on the Light in her belly. She threw an open palm towards the ground, creating a glowing white circle of energy that spun like a disk shaped whirlwind. She could feel the energy from her Empowering Rift cycle from the land to her body and back again, boosting the strength of her weapons to new heights. The Arc bullets from Blight’s sniper rifle ripped through the heads and even shields of the Cabal. Despite taking almost as much as they were dishing out, the two of them were really holding their own.

Luz dashed behind cover to give her body a bit of time to recover. While in the heat of things, she didn’t notice the extra icons on her helmet’s HUD. Apparently as she killed more and more, Luz was leveling up. A few Skills made themselves known to her, including a Frag Grenade.

“No time like the present.” Luz said as she gave her tummy a fim pat. Her midsection gave off a gentle glow before a ball of light appeared and dropped a classic sphere with a pin in her open palm. Luz had seen enough old World War II movies to figure this out. She glanced out of cover for a brief moment before she yanked out the pin and hurled the grenade in between some enemies. While one of them noticed and hid behind its shield, two others were sent flying by the resulting explosion. “Yes!” Luz cheered.

She was about to ready another frag before the ground began to rumble. The roar of a loud machine was audible even with the frantic combat going on, and everyone could see a tank rolling over a nearby hill.

Dubbed a ‘[Golliath](https://www.destinypedia.com/images/4/4c/Destiny-GoliathTank.jpg)’ by many, it was a hovering death platform. While not fast in the slightest compared to other vehicles, it was built with enough firepower to level a town on its own. Luz compared it to a tank from her time period, only instead of wheels it floated about to 4 giant thrusters. The turret on top began to slowly turn in their direction before the barrel charged with a fiery glow.

“GET DOWN!!” Blight called out.

WHOOOSH...BOOM!!

Luz watched as another convoy truck, along with a few unlucky people nearby, exploded into a giant fireball. The girl almost wanted to puke as she saw a man saunter out of the flames for a few zombie-like steps, his flesh and bones literally melting, before he fell to the ground.

Before Luz could fall into despair again, she heard Blight’s voice once more over the radio. “Listen up! We shall not fall this day! When the Darkness fights, we fight back even harder!”

Another orange glow, this one just across the battlefield, caught Luz’s attention. There stood Blight, not shaken up in the slightest. Instead the girl was more energized than ever. Her entire body radiated with an aura that matched the sun itself, only it wasn’t bright enough to force Luz to look away.

Blight was more than a bit livid. Such unnecessary loss of human life was a stain on her pride as a Guardian. She was a Blight, one of the best. No one else will die today unless they rally behind the Cabal banner. Her tummy swelled both in power and size as The Light grew within her. With an immense jump she let out a mighty battle cry. “Chase the sunrise: DAWNBLADE!!”

With a hand raised to the sky, Blight drew a flaming saber from the very air itself as a pair of burning wings burst out from her back. She practically flew across the battlefield, dashing through the sky and hurling crescents of hot fire with each swing of her blade. Every Cabal even caught near one of the resulting explosions were turned to ash before Blight turned her attention on the tank itself. With it being so slow, none of its shots were even close to hitting this angel of death.

“Take this!” Blight twirled her sword before she let loose with a flurry of flaming slashes. The Goliath fell to pieces before it finally detonated in a massive explosion. As the last Cabal fell in defeat, the civilians cheered in jubilation. A few parents cried and hugged their children.

As she drifted back to the ground, Blight panted hard with exhaustion. Her once massive tummy had shrunk back to its regular girth as the last of her Dawnblade ran out. “Ooff!” Blight grunted as she felt a weight tackle her from the side. It wasn’t long before she figured out who that was.

“Dios mio, that was SPECTACULAR! You practically kicked all their butts into next week!” squealed Luz as she hugged Blight tightly. The girl was literally bouncing on her feet, smushing their tummies together. “You were like a total superhero!”

While Luz would never see it, a faint dusting of pink appeared on Blight’s cheeks for just a moment. She did notice Blight go stiff as a board. “O-Ok…” was the girl’s only response.

Luz quickly let go once she picked up on Blight’s state. “Oh! Sorry about that! You ok?”

Blight gave a nod in response as her shoulders became visibly more relaxed. “Yes. I’m just...tired…” It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the entire truth either. She worked out a kink in her shoulder as she made her way over to the civilians. “C’Mon Luz, our job isn’t over yet.”

~~~

“Again. Thank you SO much for saving our skins back there.” Aliya said as she shook Blight’s hand. After tending to the wounded, Luz and Blight escorted the remaining caravan towards the safety of The Farm. Thankfully the rest of the journey was uneventful.

Blight rested a hand on her hip. “No thanks are needed Ma'am. Just doing our job.”

“And what a fine job indeed. Thanks you too as well.” Aliya nodded to Luz. “We would’ve been ashes and dust if not for you two coming to our aid so quickly.”

Luz took off her helmet and stored her Sparrow as Blight did earlier. She had kept watch on the rear while Blight led the way. The dark haired girl then smiled, giving a shy chuckle as she rubbed the back of her neck with one hand. “Well ya know… I just did what I could. Blight here did most of the heavy lifting. She really is amazing!”

“Well I’m gonna go check on Monty and the others. We really appreciate having you Guardians around, especially you little cuties with your big bellies and whatnot. Take care.”

Once Aliya left on her way, Luz turned to Blight. “Sooo...how did I do this time?”

“Better.” Blight crossed her arms. “Still somewhat sloppy and inaccurate, but...decent.”

“Well I’ll take what I can get.” Luz replied as she took a few moments to actually look around.

The Farm was about what she expected it to be. It was a mixture of wooden and metal structures straight out of a Southern magazine. There was even a creaky waterwheel slowly turning on top of a crystal clear stream.

Luz caught sight of different ships moving in and out of the various landing zones scattered about. Some ships dropped Guardians, both with big bellies and without. Others dropped pallets of much needed cargo, including salvaged bits of the broken trucks from the caravan they just saved.

It was honestly a welcome sight. Luz was definitely a little tired, and she could only imagine how Blight felt after all that. Still the other Guardian did not show it. Blight motioned for Luz to follow before she went down to the center square. There was a nice fountain in the middle, and off to the right were 3 small terminals.

Luz was partially surprised at how easily her body adjusted to its new center of mass. The girl was practically a newborn deer on her feet earlier today, but the almost sensual sway in her hips as she mimicked Blight’s movements quickly felt completely natural. It was almost like she had been pregnant her whole life.

 _Then again, am I pregnant? I mean I hope not. Not too keen on raising a Luz Jr. anytime soon._ Luz wondered to herself as she mindlessly rubbed circles on her tummy with her right hand. She never felt any movement inside, so odds are it was just a strange girth she had to deal with from now on. Blight had explained it earlier but some of it hadn’t fully sunk in yet. All she remembered is that the so-called Ghost, or what remained of it, that brought her back to life was a part of her now. It was her link to The Traveler, and someday she would wield awesome powers just like Blight.

She looked over to the Guardian in question. Luz noticed how Blight carried herself with each step. It was a combination of pride and conviction, and Luz saw that in spades when Blight took to the skies earlier. Luz smiled with determination and made a silent vow.

_That settles it! I, Luz Noceda, will become a top tier New Light too! Just you wait!_

“Alright. These terminals have a direct connection to the Vanguard Network. You’ll still need to go to The Last City to get officially registered, but there should be a little welcome package for you.” Blight explained.

Luz nodded before she used her Ghost Link on one of the terminals. She had access to transmat storage, a place to store excess items and gear, and a news feed called Tower Thoughts with various posts from different Guardians.

Inside of the storage unit however, Luz found a container of 20,000 Glimmer, some material called Spinmetal that looked like leaves made of tinfoil, a bronze key card, and another blue engram. Luz stored the other items in her belly while she examined the engram. With a light tap the object glowed before it transformed into the [Stampede Mk.32](https://www.light.gg/db/items/3493948734/stampede-mk32/) grenade launcher.

“Well this would’ve been useful two hours ago.” said Luz, but she didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and put the gun away for future use. “Still 20k in Glimmer? Talk about a haul! Bet I could buy some serious gear with all this moolah!”

Blight shook her head. “If you’re scrounging around the scrap yard or Thrift Alley maybe. Still it’ll be a nice amount to get you started. Some good meals, first month’s rent, clothing, etc.”

“Oh yeah. Can’t exactly wear this old thing this 24/7 can I?.” Luz tugged on the collar of her two piece suit. While it was rather comfortable, she had to admit to herself that she was getting a little ripe after a hard day’s work. The space fabric stuck to her skin slightly. “Phew, worked up a real sweat today.”

Luz brought out the key card from before. “What’s this for exactly?”

“That’s for the Sky Shuttle. It’s public transit between here and The Last City. Useful until you get your own ship.” Blight said. “Thankfully all you have to do is carry the card around in your tummy. Don’t even have to pull it out.”

“Wait…” Luz’s eyes began to light up once again as she looked at Blight. “Does this mean you’ve got a ship?”

While Blight herself didn’t feel the need to show off, she remembered how she used to look at everything with such a vibrant outlook. She led Luz over to an empty landing pad before she tapped a few buttons on her gauntlet’s virtual interface.

Luz didn’t have to wait long as a crimson streak shot down from the upper atmosphere before it hovered a few meters above them. It had sharp angles with wide wings, and the white accents popped against the main red body.

“This is my ship, the [Comitatus](http://destiny.8bitsoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/ship_comitatus.jpg).”

“Wow… Sorry I swear I’m trying not to fangirl as much, but seriously every time I think you can’t get any cooler you prove me wrong.” Luz said.

Blight paused as she stared into Luz’s honest eyes. Sure they were drowning in naivete, but they were so sincere at their core. “Thank you.” said Blight before she reached out a hand. Luz took it before the pair disappeared in a flicker of white light.

Inside the Comiatius the area was surprisingly comfortable and spacious, good for at least 3 people. While Blight took to the pilot’s chair, Luz sat behind and off to the other girl’s left on a chair facing more to the center of the cockpit. Luz buckled herself into a harness for safety, the strap resting snug across the top of her tummy.

The ship took off with relative ease, zooming up high above the clouds. After the initial hype of being in an actual spaceship tempered somewhat, Luz was able to relax a bit. The seats were soft as they cradled her back and butt like she was sitting on giant marshmallows.

Luz let out a sigh as she got fully comfortable. “Man Blight, this has to be like… the Royals Royce of spaceships. I’m just waiting for the robot butler to offer me a drink.”

Blight chuckled again. “No robot butler, but there is an ice chest to your right if you want something cold.”

“Sure.” Luz said. She unbuckled her harness and stood up with ease. “Do you want me to get you anything?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll be fine.” Blight replied as she worked the ship controls.

Luz unbuckled herself and shuffled over to a large container not too far from her chair. After opening it, the girl fought back a shiver from the blast of cold air that kissed her face. Inside she found 3 rows of drinks half buried in the cleanest ice spheres she had ever seen. Yes, not cubes...spheres.

_Jeez, even her ice is fancy?_

The dark haired Guardian fished around until she found a purple bottle with a green label on it that said Sparkling Grape Punch. Luz got back into her seat and popped the top off the container. Bubbles and fruit flavors danced on her tongue, eliciting a happy sigh from the girl after her lips left the bottle. “Mmmm...That hit the spot.” she said after placing the bottle in a cup holder nearby.

Blight pressed a button on the dash, making a set of panels appear around the cockpit. Luz’s eyes gazed upon the immense sea of buildings underneath what Luz could only describe as a literal moon floating mere miles above it. It was almost surreal how massive it was. “What. Is. that?”

“That’s The Traveler Luz. The source of our power and eternal life.” Blight turned the ship to the right, over the spider web of streets and towards a massive tower.

“Welcome to Bonesborough: The Last City.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Not sure what kind of schedule I'll keep, but a good chunk of the work has been done already. I really am excited for all this.
> 
> “Dios mío, ellas son ENORMES!” = "Oh My God, they are HUGE!"


	3. What Makes a Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz makes it to Bonesborough and doesn't get she wants. However she then gets what she needs.
> 
> (WARNING: This story contains characters with expanded bellies. If that's not your thing then turn back now.)

Luz and Blight appeared in a flash and dropped into the hanger. Dozens of people and Guardians, some with bellies and some without, moved about doing everything from transporting supplies to fixing equipment. There were even some robots here and there, including one in the corner casually sweeping. Some people did stop and stare, with Luz noticing that most of those eyes landed on Blight.

“Just head up that ramp to the left to the courtyard. Talk with The Vanguard and get registered. You should be good from there.” Blight said before she turned to head back towards the ship.

“Wait, are you not coming?” Luz asked.

Blight stopped in place. “My job was to get you to Bonesborough Luz, and you’re standing here. You’ll be fine. I still have another mission left to complete.” 

“But, will I see you again?”

Blight turned her head to Luz. She pondered actually removing her helmet for the briefest of moments, although she wasn’t fully sure as to why. “Maybe. Take care of yourself Rookie.” 

Blight stepped forward before she teleported into her ship and took off into the wilds once more.

Luz stood there for a bit and let out a sigh as she watched the other girl leave. Her round ears picked up on some of the mutterings from others around her.

“Was that Blight?” said a girl

“Yeah totally. Isn’t she cool?” sighed another

“Wish she had come to revive me instead. Talk about lucky...”

 _Lucky? Guess Blight must really be a big shot._ Luz thought to herself before she made her way through the compound. 

Some people she had to walk around, while others shuffled around her instead. Mechanics ran back and forth, chattering on about helion thrusters, flux capacitors, and a dozen other things that Luz didn’t have the mental hard drive space for at the moment. 

After climbing a flight of stairs, the dark haired girl found herself in a massive open courtyard. There were signs and booths in every direction. The air was filled with a myriad of different smells, from fresh flowers to delicious foods. It was such a stark contrast from the harsh solidarity that Luz felt out in the wilds. Sure nature was always beautiful to her, but the Guardian was a city girl at heart. The crowds, the hustle and bustle, Luz soaked it all in with a smile on her face.

Even with all the stuff Luz saw today, there was always more that caught her attention. As she made her way out of the hangar she noticed how different people were. There were a few Witches from her time, humanoids with pointy ears and vampire-like fangs, so she knew the pointy parts of Blight’s helmet weren’t just for show. 

However there were other beings of all kinds trying to make a living. Some had scales, others fur, and plenty of them even had tails. There was a sense of unity here that the girl really enjoyed. The harshness of the world outside the walls probably played a part. Mankind usually put aside their differences in the name of mutual survival after all.

“Well Hi there.” chimed a voice. Luz turned to see a tall robot with a blue painted chassis wave at her. Its head was a blocky rectangular like shape with a single camera for an eye.

“Um, hello.” Luz answered with a small wave of her own. She was a bit surprised that she could still be taken aback by all these new experiences, but nobody said a part of the girl didn’t enjoy that her fantasies were now reality. Luz grew up reading the Good Astronaut Azura series cover to cover, her head filled with visions of adventures galore. 

Now here she was, a little rounder than she expected, but a full blown space girl nonetheless. 

The robot seemed to look Luz over with its single camera eye. “I am Malachite 10-20. Do you need assistance Guardian?”

“Actually yeah. I was looking to join the Vanguard.”

The machine nodded. “Affirmative.” Luz followed the machine’s finger as she pointed towards a blue arrow sign with an orange and white V shaped symbol. “Simply follow the signs towards that building over there. Register, choose a class, and report to an onboarding agent. Do you have any other questions?”

Luz looked back as she was already on her way, barely hearing the last half of that statement. “No I’m good thank you so much!” she yelled back.

“Oh. Have a nice day.” said Malachite as she turned to another patron. “Well Hi there…” 

Darting around civilians, Luz caught a glimpse of the Gunsmith booth to her right. The place was manned by an intricate but slightly worn looking blue robot and a portly looking girl with a comically large hammer strapped to her back. It was definitely a place she wanted to check out when she got the chance. 

“One step at a time though. I need to fi-OOOF!” Luz grunted as a shorter being pushed past her. While she recovered her footing, the Guardian barely caught sight of a bit of dark blue hair that promptly vanished in the sea of people behind her. The ache from the hit and run died off quickly thanks to her healing factor, which Luz was grateful for. She decided to just move on. “Guess I wasn’t the only one in a rush today.” 

As she ascended the stairs towards the main Vanguard office, Luz couldn’t help but scratch at an annoying itch on her middle, but didn’t think too much about it.

At the top of the stairs Luz turned towards an open hall with a massive table in the center. Standing at the left was a man with a shaved head and broad shoulders. What stood out the most to Luz was his bright blue skin. Next to him floated a tiny robot with a single glowing eye.

As the man was finishing up a conversation with a few other Guardians, the small robot came over to Luz.

“Greetings Guardian. Let me guess, just came out of the ground today huh?” the tiny machine asked. It was the size of Luz’s palm, and fluttered around her while scanning her body with an azure colored light. 

“Yeah. My name is Luz Noceda. You’re a Ghost right?” the girl responded as she twisted her neck to follow the drone with her vision. She noted the calm feminine voice that came out of it.

“Correct. I am Rampart. A pleasure to meet you.” The Ghost finished scanning. “Haven’t even selected a class? Well we cannot have that now can we. Right Commander Zavala?”

“Indeed.” Luz turned once more to see that the blue man from before stood in front of her now. He was quite massive now that she got a closer look, easily 6 feet by Luz’s rough estimate. 

Luz felt the odd need to swallow hard as she stood at attention with her hands at her sides. 

Zavala let out a light chuckle. “At ease, soldier. There is plenty of time for formalities. I hear your journey here was quite the experience.”

Luz found herself relaxing a bit before she shyly rubbed the back of her neck. “Wellll, I mean we didn’t do much. A little pew pew on some baddies but things turned out ok.”

“No need for modesty. I got the report on your way here.” 

“Report? I don’t remember a…”

Zavala pulled out a data pad. “ Took out a Fallen scouting party, stopped a Cabal battalion, and escorted the surviving caravan to the safety of The Farm. Nice work.”

_Oh. Must have been Blight then. She really does think of everything._

“Thank you sir, but really the credit mostly goes to Blight. I was…” Luz looked to the ground for just a moment. “...more of a tagalong.” 

“Even helping a little can mean a lot. Those people would not be seeing the next sunrise if it wasn’t for the both of you. Remember that.” the Commander explained. 

Luz felt a tiny sense of pride from Zavala’s encouragement. He checked it off at the bottom. “Luz Noceda, your requisition number is 62043. Since this is your first day, you won’t be given any official missions until the day after tomorrow. Feel free to get settled in, explore the city, and learn what you can til then. Rampart, see that this New Light gets situated.” 

“Very well Commander. Come along Luz.” As Rampart floated out the door and past the common area, Luz thanked Commander Zavala before she caught up to the Ghost. “So, do you know about Guardian classes?”

Luz nodded. “Uh huh. There’s the Warlock, the Titan, and the Hunter.” she replied as eventually ended up on a nearby balcony overlooking the city. Luz could see the bottom part of The Traveler as it hung in the sky like a constant enigma. 

“Yes, very good. The first thing we need to do is have you make that choice. Remember...” the Ghost turned to Luz. “You can only make this choice once, so take your time. Now, sit and cross your legs in meditation.”

The youthful Guardian did as she was commanded to and took a spot on the mostly white stone ground. A gentle breeze played with her short dark hair as the girl closed her eyes. Her hands were still a bit fidgety though.

“It’s alright Young One. Just breathe and relax. Feel yourself opening up to the Light in your tummy.” said Rampart. “Let it flow through you.”

Luz breathed in deep through her nose before she slowly let that same breath out past her lips. Her once clenched fists changed into flat palms that rested comfortably on top of her belly. The tension in her shoulders gently faded as her mind began to drift. 

Her brain went over the highlights of her day, from waking up to a huge belly, to meeting Blight, to fighting monsters right out of a book of nightmares. While her emotions were a bit of a roller coaster at the time, one constant was the strong-willed Warlock who guided her here. Luz still found it strange that Blight never once took off her helmet, but it was also kinda cool. It reminded her of a superhero in a way. A pillar of support that others can cling to.

There was also a sense of nobility to Warlock. The way Blight walked was confident and mature. She spoke with grace and tact, when she wasn't yelling at least. She was also kind, tending to the wounded caravan members. Even though she never saw the other girl's face, Luz had to admit that there was a sense of...beauty...in everything Blight did.

_Ok calm your brain Noceda...Going a biiit overboard for a minute..._

Once her mind was finally clear enough, Luz felt the warm glow of The Light building within her core. With her vision still blocked, Luz saw three white creatures. A mighty lion appeared on her left, the second a fierce hawk that swooped down and landed in front, and finally a sleek snake coiled up on her right. Each of them stopped well within arm’s reach of the girl. 

She heard Rampart’s voice. “What do you see?” 

“I see, a zoo? Well, 3 cool animals really.”

Rampart beeped approvingly. “Very good. Now, the lion is a symbol of strength of body and heart, the spirit of all Titans. The snake is the Hunter, a symbol of cunning of the spirit and the will to survive the harshest of challenges. Finally the hawk symbolizes freedom of the mind and clarity in action. Every Warlock falls under that banner.” 

_The hawk. So that’s what she chose..._ Luz pondered a bit longer. Deep down she really wanted to see Blight again. Maybe it was some weird chicken imprint thing? She had to fight back a chuckle at that very notion. Still, being a Warlock would mean that the chances they’d meet again would go up considerably. Maybe they’d be part of a Warlock Club or something. Luz figured it was as good a plan as any as she wasn’t sure which one she wanted. 

As she readied herself to make a decision, three glowing orbs of power appeared in the same spots as the spiritual beasts in her mind. Luz slowly extended a hand forward…

...and fell on her side after a sudden weight made contact and knocked her over. Luz felt a sharp pain for the briefest of moments. “Oww…” Luz groaned after opening her eyes. 

“Sorry!” said a young boy, probably 7 or 8, in a beanie as he went to pick up a ball that had found its way to the side of Luz’s noggin. A woman with long blonde hair came running up to the balcony. 

“Soren! Seriously young man, how many times have I told you not to run off like that?!” 

“But my ball…” 

The woman looked at Luz as the latter pulled herself back up to a sitting position. “No biggie. I’ve been through worse. Trust me.” Luz said with a smile.

“Well either way I want to apologize too for this little scamp. Enjoy the rest of your day Guardian.” said the woman.

“Hey no harm done.” Luz replied with a dismissing wave. She looked at the boy. “Just make sure you are careful and listen to your Mom ok?”

The boy nodded and smiled, a single tooth missing from his grin. “Ok!”

Luz watched the pair leave and couldn't help but continue to smile. Lord knows how many times her own mother had to apologize for Luz antics back in the day. Like the time she brought snakes to school and ended up in the principal's office.

Even now, Luz could clearly remember the feeling of one of those snakes coiling around her as her hand mindlessly ran across its smooth scales.

_Wait...what?!_

The girl’s eyeballs were clearly open, but she could see the so-called spirit snake had now made its home around her body. Luz didn’t feel any way threatened by it, and neither did the snake in return. It flicked its tongue and stared at her with glowing green eyes.

“¡Espera espera espera! I thought...I was going for the bird and…” Luz eyes widened in realization. She scanned the area and couldn’t feel the presence of the lion or hawk anymore. Her head whipped around to Rampart. “Can’t I have a do over?!” 

Rampart shook her body in an obvious no. “Sorry Luz, but once a class is chosen, that’s it. Apologies for not noticing the child earlier. I was focused on the task at hand, like you were. There were some strange Ionic fluctuations I couldn’t pin down, but nothing too out of the ordinary I think.”

An audible smack came from Luz’s free hand as it connected with her forehead. “Just my luck...” the girl groaned before she let out a sigh and scratched under the chin to the ethereal serpent. “Fine. Just gotta turn lemons into lemonade then, eh little friend?” 

The creature on Luz’s body began to glow before it shattered into motes of light. The sparkling dust danced around the girl as it lifted her off her feet. She couldn’t help but let out gentle groans as the power rushed into her in waves, building and building as her entire body erupted with force in a blinding light that left her mind blank for a few intense moments. 

As the aura faded away, Luz found herself practically re-energized where she stood. Her body tingled with a fiery sensation not unlike what she felt radiating off of Blight earlier that day. 

Upon further examination of herself, Luz’s outfit had completely changed. The girl stepped over to a window not too far away to gaze at her reflection. What was once a plain grey two piece suit was now a rather snazzy purple two piece getup with sturdy blue and brown boots that had tiny spikes on the back, a black belt, and small black knee guards. A pair of black and purple gloves reached up to just below her shoulders, exposing the joints. Luz also noted that her original earrings were replaced with green orbs. Finally she noticed the comfortable blue collar that connected to a rather stylish cape. 

“Well at least the cape is cool.” Luz said to herself as she tossed the end of it on purpose to get some sweet fluttering action. She smirked and shot a pair of finger guns at her equally confident reflection. “Of course I look good in just about anything.~”

Just past her reflection, a man in a grey and white workers uniform with what resembled a wrench in his hand stared back at Luz in utter confusion. It took the girl a few moments for it to click, and a dusting of pink spread across her face. Luz timidly waved at the bewildered man before she stepped out of his line of sight. 

“Well I think you look great as a Hunter.”

Luz turned to Rampart as the latter came up to her. “Awww thanks Rampy!” 

“Rampart is fine.”

Luz winced a bit. She scratched the side of her stomach. “Sorry...”

“Anyway. Now that you’re a Hunter, you should have access to a new set of skills. I wouldn’t suggest experimenting with them within city limits however.” Rampart explained as she watched Luz sheepishly pull her hand back from the interface on her arm. 

The dark haired Hunter cleared her throat and put her hands behind her back. “You may continue.” 

The Ghost rolled her single eye. “As I was saying, there are training facilities like The Crucible where you can hone your new skills and a firing range to freely test weapons.” 

The segments of Rampart’s shell split apart as the Ghost released a pulse of energy. Luz noticed her arm light up for a moment.

“I’ve updated your Ghost Link with a map of The Tower. It has all the major facilities that you can use, like the location of the Hunter headquarters, and the areas you are allowed to go. Feel free to use the day to look around, make some friends, and learn more about being a Guardian. Report to Hunter HQ the day after tomorrow for your first official mission, but you’re free to assist in any other missions you qualify for even on your days off. Dismissed.” 

The Hunter girl nodded before she stood at attention and gave Rampart a salute. “I won’t let you down Rampart!” 

The Ghost beeped in approval. “I’m sure you will do fine. May The Traveller’s Light be your guide.” 

~~~

And with that, Luz was left to her own devices once more as she meandered about the Tower’s main courtyard. The human girl’s body felt like it had more pep to it now. Even the weight in her tummy felt as light as a pillow under her skin, which was a strange way to describe it but the best she could come up with on the spot. She never once felt movement within, only the occasional shift in temperature and pressure at times. 

Right now though, Luz definitely felt like she could eat a Cabal.

Other than the food bars and drinks from Blight, Luz hadn’t had a proper meal since she first woke up. The girl pulled up her digital map to find the nearest place to grab a bite. “This place has a cafeteria? With a buffet?! Sweet!”

Following the signs, Luz made her way to a lower level in the Tower. Her ears picked up a different kind of commotion from the hustle and bustle outside. Apparently it sounded like an argument of sorts.

“Look Boscha, I just want to get something to eat before my next mission.” 

“Awww, little baby Half-Witch hasn’t had her num-nums yet!”

“I told you to stop calling me that! Don’t you have anything better to do?!” 

Luz pushed her arms and belly between a pair of civilians as she excused herself to get a better look. Inside the half circle of bodies and tums just outside the cafeteria doors were a group of New Lights. 

Based on their armors, a Hunter and a Titan were to Luz’s left. The latter of which was apparently named Boscha. The preteen Titan stood a few inches taller than the others with a light pink skin tone, purple hair tied into a bun, pointy witch ears, and three unique eyes. Her left one sported a rather obvious scar.

Her armor was rather polished, especially the steel plated breastplate. It not only had a bronze symbol with two smelting hammers, but the lower third of the armor looked like it was literally on fire over her half naked belly. Her shoulder pads and the flag like Titan Mark attached to her right hip were crimson red, while a pair of yellow pants with black stripes followed every curve of her legs. The rest of her outfit consisted of purple boots with steel toes and black fingerless gloves. Boscha’s toned arms were well exposed. 

“And give up on my favorite pastime? C’Mon, you know Scaredy Guts like you give us real Guardians a bad name.” Boscha taunted.

The girl beside Boscha giggled. “Good one BB!” Luz could see that this girl was a witch as well, with chocolate colored skin and grey eyes. She had a heart piercing dangling from her popped navel. Her silver hair was kept in a high poofy ponytail with a jet black undercut.

The other girl’s Hunter armor consisted of mostly purples and reds with a few black accents to tie it all together. She rested her hands on her exposed hips with a gleeful toothy grin, gently swaying from side to side as her skirt and cape followed along. Her boots were knee high and very clean like the rest of her outfit.

“I mean Willow, you gotta admit. Never having a full fireteam can’t be a good look for you.” said the Hunter girl.

On the other side of the conflict were two other New Lights, a Titan and a Warlock. The one getting the most flak was a rather stocky but still noticeably muscular girl with large glasses and short curly blue hair. Behind those glasses were gentle but still fierce green eyes. 

The one beside the girl in glasses was a much younger and shorter boy, probably 12 or so, with dark brown skin and short black hair. His robes were mostly different shades of blue with black accents. Like every New Light his brown tummy hung out mostly exposed. He stood firm by his friend’s side.

“Stop being such a jerk Skara.” The short Warlock grabbed his fuming friend by the arm. “C’Mon Willow. Boscha and Skara aren’t worth it.” 

Willow gave a nod before she turned away. Boscha smirked and crossed her arms triumphantly. “Go ahead and run away, just like at Fernbelly Ridge...”

The Warlock boy gasped as Willow’s clenched fists shook with rage. Behind her fogging glasses were two flickering purple lights. The girl seemed to be in serious distress and Luz couldn’t stand by any longer.

“Hey!” Luz yelled as she darted over. Her narrowed eyes landed on Boscha. “What’s your deal?! She just wants to be left to do her own thing!”

There was a pregnant pause as everyone picked up on this new girl’s sudden interjection. Even Willow felt her bubbling emotions subside for the moment along with the glow in her eyes. 

Boscha blinked in surprise a few times before her features became hostile once more. She pushed her finger into Luz’s forehead. “And what’s YOUR deal Shrimp?! This doesn’t concern you!” 

The dark haired girl shoved Boscha’s hand away. She took a half step closer, pushing her belly hard into Boscha’s slightly larger one as she glared up at her. Both girls had a small but intense orange auras, physical manifestations of their fiery hearts. “My DEAL is that I can’t stand selfish bullies like you!” 

“Oh you wanna go Shrimp?!” 

“Bring it, Tres Ojos!” 

“T-Tray wha-? You’ve clearly been dropped on your head or something.” 

The doors to the Cafeteria opened and a figure stepped out. “Well now. Care to explain what’s going on here?” 

“And who asked you Old Ma-...um…” Boscha’s voice got stuck in her throat as she looked up and to the side. Luz had a front row seat to the girl turning a bit pale. 

Luz noticed the other Guardians’ similar expressions before she backed off of Bosha’s tummy and turned her attention to the new towering figure. 

He was a massive Titan with broad shoulders and a helmet with a missing horn. His armor was worn and cracked in several places, but his stance was firm and extremely confident.

“L-L-Lo-Lord Shaxx…sir!” stuttered Boscha as she finally forced her voice to work again.

“Shaxx?” Luz asked, blinking owlishly. 

Boscha gasped at Luz’s clear lack of knowledge. “Like DUH! That’s THE Lord Shaxx! One of the OGs from Twilight Gap!” She turned back to Shaxx with sparkling eyes of pure adoration, the sides of her cheeks a few shades darker as she half whispered “I have two of his official limited edition secret rare trading cards…” 

“Jeez, you reborn yesterday newbie?” said Skara.

“Hey! FYI, I was reborn toda-!” 

“ENOUGH!” Shaxx bellowed. He adjusted the packets of food under his arms. “Yes. The one and only. Now Guardians, you know there’s only one way to settle a dispute, like Titans...”

Willow groaned and placed a hand to her face. “Here we go…”

“...in the Crucible!” 

“Yes!” Boscha practically cheered. One would think the girl won first place at the County Fair. “You are so right Lord Shaxx sir! That’s how real Titans do it!” 

Shaxx chuckled. “Ah, to be young again… Back to business. Cleary there’s a bit of a divide here, and we cannot have that. Guardians must be a united front against the never-ending forces of The Darkness. So I expect you all in Arena 10 to hash things out in combat. Should be an open slot for first thing tomorrow.” He looked to Boscha and Skara. “You two have a third?”

Boscha saluted. “Yes sir!” 

“Right I remember now. You’re with that Warlock. Quite the contender.” He looked to all of the potbellied Guardians. “Don’t worry about missions, I’ll handle The Vanguard. Until then I don’t want to hear a peep out of any of you in regards to this. Save your argument for the battlefield.” 

“Sir yes sir!” they all responded in unison. 

Shaxx checked his bags one last time before moving past the dispersing crowd. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a mission of my own to complete.” 

Once the Titan had left, Boscha threw one last cocky smirk in the direction of her future opponents as she motioned for Skara and her to leave as well. “Good Luck. You’re gonna need it.” 

Luz stuck out her tongue at the two before she turned to Willow. “Are you ok?” She asked as the trio moved off to the side to allow regular foot traffic to resume.

“Ugh, I’d rather do another dumb eating contest against Boscha again instead...” Willow said while rolling her eyes. “...even if the last two times we both hit the buffet so hard I couldn’t even roll out of bed the next morning.”

The Warlock boy leaned towards Luz with a hand near his mouth like he was telling a secret. “Literally. She called me into her room one morning just to roll her over.”

Willow shot the poor boy a small glare behind her lenses. “Not now Augustus.” She crossed her arms and looked back to Luz, eyeing the shorter girl up and down. “But to answer your earlier question, I’ll manage. Not the first time stuff like this has happened. What’s your name Hunter?”

“Noceda. Luz Noceda.” The girl extended a hand.

Willow looked at Luz’s gesture for a few moments before she returned it. Her lips curled upwards slightly. “Park. Willow Park.”

“And I’m Augustus Porter, but you can just call me Gus if you want!” said the short Warlock. He was definitely full of energy. Luz shook his hand as well.

“Willow and Gus. Nice to meet you guys!”

“Same. I’m guessing you’re new to Bonesborough.” Willow asked.

“Yeah just got dropped off today. I’m new, but I’ve fought both Fallen and Cabal on my way here. I promise I’ll give you guys my best in this Crucible thing. Those girls need to be knocked down a peg or two, especially _Boscha_.” Luz purposely stressed the taunting tri-clops’ name.

“I agree.” Gus chimed in. He looked to Willow. “I mean it’s unfair how much Boscha tries to get under your skin.”

Luz nodded. “I say we do something to change that. Or at least get in some solid hits. Don’t go down without a fight.”

Willow’s smile got a little bit brighter. “Thanks guys.” Willow wasn’t sure if the blush on her face was from the two Guardians or the rumbles from her large belly, but either way the Titan girl was flattered. 

Luz chuckled as her own stomach let out a low growl. “Well I don’t know about yoooou…” she teased in a sing-song voice before playfully bumping her tummy in Willow’s. “But I know I could eat. Why don’t we all stuff our guts silly then come up with a plan?”

Willow and Gus both nodded. “Sure!” 

The kids made their way inside the Traveler’s Kitchen, the tower’s Mess Hall of sorts. It was a massive warehouse like complex that offered cheap but filling foods to both Guardian and civilian alike. They even donated any unsold goods that would’ve been thrown away after a few days to the much poorer regions who couldn’t even afford their bare bottom prices. 

Most food was sold by the pound, but Guardians could pay for buffet access. The only rule was that whatever ended up on your plate, must end up in your gut. No take-outs and no waste. 

Quality wise, the selections weren’t all that different from high school lunches. Most of it was simple to cook items like spaghetti, soups, or baked chicken. Stuff that could be made in huge batches quickly and were more for filling than for taste.

“Ok. That’ll be 3,000 Glimmer young lady.” the canine cashier girl said after Luz selected the buffet option. The young Guardian let out a gasp.

“What?! That’s highway robbery!”

Willow and Gus stared at each other before they both laughed. Gus was the first to catch his breath. 

“L-Luz, we gotta teach you about conversion ratios.” he said.

The cute Hunter’s head tilted in confusion. “Que? Say what now?” 

The resident Titan of the trio wiped a tear from her eye. “He means that the number looks big, but it’s not that much. Think of it as like $9 and some change.”

“Ooooh…” Luz blushed with embarrassment and looked back at the cashier. She tapped a few buttons on the AR interface on her wrist to transfer the currency. “Sorry about that.” 

The blonde worker smiled before she adjusted her grey uniform over her own round stomach. Luz didn’t sense any Light from the woman, so she was just a pregnant civilian. “No biggie. New around here?”

Luz gave the woman a nod. “You could say that.”

“Well the more Guardians keeping the Last City safe, the better I always say.” She reached over to a stack of freshly sanitized plates and handed Luz one. “Have your fill. Enjoy.”

“Thank you Ma’am.” Luz made her way over to the food as she examined the clean white plate in her hands. It was practically the size of a thin trash can lid, but sturdy thanks to the treated material. 

Luz herself was A-Ok with that. She always thought that school lunches were practically snacks back in her old life. The girl was a mini black hole then and it was even more apparent to her now. Sadly there weren’t any Tostones or Pollo Guisado, otherwise Luz would’ve just taken whole trays of the stuff, but beggars can’t be choosers. Still she piled her plate as high as she could possibly make it, happy to see her new friends were doing the same.

Willow, Gus, and Luz actually played off of each other rather easily as they ate. They cracked jokes, swapped a few small stories from their previous lives, and bounced ideas for crucible strategies. Luz was very happy that she met them.

~~~

Luz’s fork hit the table as she let out a loud belch. Part of her questioned why all of the New Lights had exposed middles at first, and she even asked Blight about it. Blight mentioned something about Guardian pride, like their full guts being symbols for the common people to rally behind. 

However as she looked at the breadth of space that her gut covered her part of the table, the girl was happy that she didn’t feel the need to unfasten her belt. Luz couldn’t even begin to wrap her arms around the flesh ball that was almost the size of her own body. The metal table was surprisingly sturdy, and didn’t even flex under the combined weight of their middles. 

“Phew! Mess Hall foods aren’t the best, but they hit the spot every time!” said a very happy Gus.

“You said it! I was practically wasting away earlier!” Luz added in. She reached over and patted the bloated tummy of the Titan next to her that took up most of the table. Made sense after so many whole chickens went inside. “Although I’m really impressed by Willow! I thought _I_ could pack it in!” 

Willow blushed and fought back against a burp for a moment. “Normally I don’t..uurp… ‘xcuse me...eat this much, but you know…” The girl shrugged. “...stress eater.”

“No, I didn’t know.” Luz’s voice was full of genuine concern. “But you feel at least a little better now right?” 

“Yeah. An extra full tummy always makes me feel better. That and gardening. Speaking of which, note to self: Check on Helsanthym later.” Willow muttered as she continued to rub wide circles over her gut. Her face and tone turned serious. “Still we better go over strategies again.” 

Luz smiled and nodded. “Sure. So, tell me again about Boscha and Skara.” 

“Well Skara’s a Hunter, like you Luz...” the Warlock boy said. “But while you use Solar Light as a Gunslinger, Skara is a Nightstalker thanks to Void Light. She can literally vanish into thin air, and can leave smoke bombs as traps.” 

“That does sound like it’ll be a problem.” said Luz. 

“Don’t worry Luz. I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves for her this time.” said Gus. The boy pulled out a single Glimmer Cube before he rolled up his sleeves. “Hunters aren’t the only ones that can use…” He waved his hands and wiggled his fingers like a magician. With a snap the Glimmer was gone. “...misdirection.” 

“Not bad.” Luz said with a smirk.

Gus returned a smug look of his own before he reached over and patted Luz’s tummy. “Wait for it…”

Luz’s left eyebrow went up before she suddenly felt pressure under her tongue. The startled girl gagged and spat out the glowing blue cube into her hand.

“Whoooa...Ok gross, but also cool!”

“Just a little transmat trickery. You can keep that by the way.” Gus said with pride.

Luz pocketed the somewhat moist currency. “Thanks.” 

Willow giggled. “Alright alright enough fooling around guys. Now, while Skara does have her skills she really just follows Boscha around. Boscha herself is a Sunbreaker Titan. She uses Solar Light, loves close combat, and when fully charged up she can hurl a ton of hammers that explode. ”

Luz nodded and hummed in agreement. “Okay got it. Avoid the ‘splodey hammers.” 

“Boscha is good. Really good. She may have a big mouth, but she has the skills to back them up, I know that better than anyone. I’ve gone toe-to-toe with her dozens of times. She’s hyper aggressive, and I can usually use that against her half the time. However…” Willow’s gazed lowered. “She’s not the only one to worry about…”

Luz put a hand on Willow’s belly and smiled. A silent _‘We’re here for you’_ through that simple action. The plant loving girl looked back up.

“What do you mean? Who could be worse than Boscha?” Luz asked.

“Their fireteam leader…” Willow sighed. “...Amity Blight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sure many of you saw that coming. Also I'm curious if anyone wants to see art for this?^^ 
> 
> ¡Espera espera espera! = Wait wait wait!


	4. Gearing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz goes shopping with her new Fireteam.
> 
> (WARNING: This story contains characters with expanded bellies. If that's not your thing then turn back now.)

It felt like time had stopped.

Luz’s brain kept trying to start up like an old Chevy left in a junkyard for over 20 years. After the fifth time her mental key turned, the girl’s mouth began working again.

“B-B-Blight!?”

Willow took out a cloth and cleaned her glasses with it. “Yep.”

“Hold up! Kinda tall, red and gold bling, really strong, cute hips, and can flippin’ fly! THAT Blight!?” 

_Also her first name is Amity apparently. Good to know. Logging that in my brain for later..._

Willow paused for a moment. “Cute what?”

“Nothing.” That word came out of Luz’s mouth a little faster than she would’ve liked. 

The Titan placed her circular frames back where they belonged and gave a scrutinizing stare in Luz’s direction. This lasted for a few agonizing seconds before Willow relented and covered her mouth. “Uuuurp! Excuse me. Phew...yeah that’s her.” 

“Amity’s the one that brought me to Bonesborough today! We fought together on the battlefield and everything! It was insane how good she was!” Luz explained. Her shoulders slumped as reality sunk in. “Dios Mio, we are so screwed. Sorry guys.”

“Don’t blame yourself Luz. It’s not your fault.” Gus said reassuringly. 

Willow nodded. “Gus is right. All we can do now is focus on the task at hand. Usually Blight would stay out of things like this because we never really had a 3rd member before. Now though we should come up with a plan since there is a chance she could step in. I think I have a basic one in mind.”

Luz found a bit of confidence again. “Sure. What ‘cha got?”

“Gus, you sure you can separate Skara from the others?” Willow asked.

Gus nodded and smiled. “I know I can manage that.”

“Good.” Willow looked back to the team’s Hunter. “While Gus handles Skara, Luz I’ll need you to take on Boscha for me. I can use my Void Light powers to hold off Amity for as long as I can, maybe even tire her out a bit. Our only hope will be to overwhelm Amity with superior numbers once her teammates are down.”

“And since Boscha practically has a laser sight set on you, I’ll have to do something to really draw her to me and avoid her exploding hammers along with whatever other weapons she has.” said Luz.

Willow hummed in agreement. “I’m sure if you can pull something like what you did today, she’ll take the bait.”

Gus chuckled. “Yeah! I’ve never seen her make a face like that. What did you call her again? Tray obos? What language was that?”

“You mean Tre Ojos? It’s Spanish, something my Mom taught me. Basically I just called her ‘Three Eyes’ so it wasn’t that big of an insult.” said Luz. She figured it was best to leave out the 7 or so actual insults she knew from her native tongue. A few did cross her mind during that argument.

“Well either way Boscha was definitely off her game back there. Give her a few more jabs like that.” said Willow. 

The trio went over the rest of their plan, Luz and Gus coming up with possible ways it could go wrong with Willow hitting them with mental counterpoints. It was far from foolproof, but it was the best they had. Now they had to put it into practice. 

The group thanked a worker who came by to collect their empty plates. Luz watched as the Titan girl turned before she got to her feet rather easily. Her massive gut reached down to her knees, but Willow held herself up rather well. 

Gus had better managed his consumption levels compared to his female companions. While he was struggling a bit with his shorter strides, he kept up with the others rather easily.

Luz was having the hardest time. In fact Willow had to slow herself down just to keep Luz from falling behind, which she wasn’t exactly ungrateful for as none of them were in that big of a rush anyway. The well stuffed Hunter felt like gravity had its grubby ethereal hands around her boulder-like belly and was pulling it down as hard as it could.

“Aw man, I didn’t expect to feel this bloated. I didn’t even eat nearly this much during last Thanksgiving.” Luz moaned. Despite the whining, Luz was clearly satisfied. 

The resident Warlock’s gaze shifted over to her. “Say Luz?”

“Yeah Gus?”

“Since you just arrived today, did you finish settling in?”

“Uhhh...actually no. I was gonna do that after eating.”

“Well we can help you out with that, then we can train after. That’ll give our tummies time to digest.” 

“Good idea Gus.” Willow chimed in. Her voice took on a bit of a joking tone. “I was kinda thinking the same, but you clearly beat me to it. Plus we can pitch in for some of your clothes or something since it’s obvious you’re kinda...lacking in the funds department Luz.”

“Are you guys sure? I mean like I’m not exactly dying to train this very second, but I don’t want to take up too much time.” Luz said while waving her hands defensively. “You really don’t have to give me money either.”

Gus shook his head, already typing away at the interface over his arm. “No problem at all! Besides, I’m a master timekeeper. I’ll make sure we don’t take too long.”

“Plus think of it as a way of saying ‘thank you’. Not a lot of people would’ve stepped in for us like you did.” Willow said. "I really appreciate it."

Luz couldn’t stop her arms before they snaked around the shoulders of her new friends. She pulled them both in close and hugged them tight. “Awww, thanks guys! You’re both amazing!”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Willow giggled. 

Willow and Gus led Luz into a store called **That Maternal Glow**. A logo of a shining angel girl with golden wings and a swollen belly graced the front of the building. It was very comfortable inside, with a mostly white and gold motif. The shelves and racks were also well organized. 

Luz ran her hands over the different materials. Some were smooth as silk while others were tough and even a little bumpy. “What do you think guys?” 

Her friends turned and saw Luz holding up a pair of different tops. The first was more colorful tie dye while the second was black with a rainbow paint splatter design that resembled blood. “Fun and colorful, or fun and colorful...with a dark side?” Luz wiggled her eyebrows.

Gus hummed in contemplation as his gaze shifted between the two shirts. “Um...uuuumm…I like the left one, but the black is so sassy.”

“I know right?! What do you think Willow?”

“I think we hold on to both of them for now. Grab anything else you see Luz and I’ll get one of the employees to help.” Willow said. “When I first came here 7 months ago, one of them helped me pick out some of my favorite outfits. Like this one.”

As Willow twirled her finger in the air, a glowing circle appeared for a moment before her outfit changed in a flicker of light. She now wore a soft pink dress that, due to her massive middle, functioned more like a cute top. Luz could guess that even if Willow wasn’t as stuffed as she was, her gut would still peak out from the bottom. Willow also wore black shorts and brown dress shoes. Tying her outfit together was a cute flower hair clip. 

Luz’s eyes sparkled. “Wow! I forgot Witches could do stuff like that! You look so cute!”

“Thanks.” Willow giggled. “It’s really easy for Witches to amp up our Guardian abilities. Most people think that’s why more and more Guardians getting revived these days are Witchlings. Energy just flows through us easier, and The Light is no exception. I have seen some other species do similar feats, but I hear it takes a lot more work.” 

“My turn!” Gus drew a circle in the air before his outfit changed as well. The boy sported an open white hoodie with dark blue sleeves, a t-shirt with the words ‘Math is Power’ across the chest, cute shorts, and hi-top sneakers. 

“Lookin’ snazzy Big Gus.” Luz said as she shot finger guns.

Gus was confused for a moment before he stared at his hands and tested out the gesture. A grin spread on his face as he playfully fired back. “Heh, cool as ice.”

“I’ll grab an associate and be right back.” said Willow. The girl swiped away some invisible wrinkles in her dress before she made her way towards the left of the store where the registers were. “I hope she’s in today…”

Meantime Gus and Luz searched the aisles, grabbing whatever made either of them ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’. A blushing Gus quickly avoided the lingerie section, both out of embarrassment and respect for Luz. 

The latter was silently thankful. Luz was an open book about a lot of things, a LOT of things, but the color and style of her unmentionables wasn’t anywhere close to the top of that list. Luz picked out some in different shades of purples and blues, her favorite colors, before wrapping them up in one of the shirts. She made a mental note not to walk out with those without paying.

After a while, Willow returned with a potbellied curvy employee by her side. Luz didn't pick up any Light from the employee, but to be on the safe side she chose not to ask if the girl was pregnant like the woman from the buffet or not. She looked to be slightly older than Willow, at least physically. The duo were laughing at some kind of joke. The employee had bright teal hair with a large bang on the right side of her face while the rest of it was cut short, fair skin, round human ears, and eyes like a deep dark ocean. Her uniform was a yellow dress shirt with a white collar and the company logo on her back, black long pants, and combat boots. Her popped out navel had a horizontal sapphire dumbbell piercing. She looked to Luz and waved.

“Sorry for the wait. Things got a little hectic with that last shipment and we’re a little understaffed today. Name’s Crystal. Willow here said you’re looking for a new wardrobe?”

“Yeah. I was just dropped off here recently and I’m still settling in.” said Luz

“Cool. Requisition number?” 

Luz’s mind shot more blanks than a movie prop gun. “Uuuuhhh…” 

“Ah it’s no biggie, as long as you got one you should be in the system already.” Crystal picked up the data pad she had clipped to her belt. “Name?”

That she could answer. Gus came by with a cart that already had what he once carried in his harms. Luz placed her own physical findings in it as well. “Luz. Luz Noceda.”

It took some time, but eventually Crystal let out a sound of triumph. “Here it is, #62043! Try to remember that okay? It’s not the end of the world, but it saves time.”

“Ok I will.” Luz said with a grateful nod thrown in. She watched as Crystal walked around her, scanning her with the data pad as it beeped at regular intervals. She had Luz hold up the end of her cape for a bit to make sure she got a good scan of the girl’s backside. 

Once Crystal made a full rotation, she smiled. “Alright. Now that I got your general measurements it’ll be easy to make more custom orders down the line. Thankfully most of our products are made with Polytractus Technology. Basically everything here stretches somewhat, but it helps to at least have numbers like these so they deliver that snug fit we all love.” She gave her own pants a tug on the side for emphasis.

“Yeah I could tell. It’s all really well made.” said Luz.

“Thanks. I’ve crafted a few pieces myself, but what’s important is finding _your_ style.” said Crystal. The teal haired girl led Luz over to the dressing rooms and nudged her inside with all the clothes. She turned to Willow. “So how much are we working with Wills?”

“Just the necessities. 3 casual outfits, a sporty one for exercise, some sleepwear and personal stuff, and of course the right shoes.” Willow explained before she took a seat on a nearby bench. “Plus whatever deals you can swing. Put on my tab.”

“Anything for my favorite customer...~” Crystal said with a wink. She put a little extra swing in her hips as she followed Luz into the large dressing room, leaving a cherry colored Titan girl behind.

Willow’s face returned to normal after a while as she chatted with Gus. Soon enough Crystal stepped back out. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you for coming!” Crystal paused as she heard a sweet giggle from Willow. “Now presenting, the Noceda Runway Hour!” 

At the girl’s signal, Luz stepped out in the black splatter shirt, dark grey skinny jeans, and bright colored running shoes. A pair of sparkling bracelets hung on her wrist. She struck a pose with her hand on her hip before giving her friends a look at the back. 

Gus let out a low whistle. “Looking good Luz.”

“Yes. Totally you.” Willow said with a thumbs up.

Crystal gave a nod. “Stylish, if I do say so myself.”

“Aww, thanks guys! Brb!” Luz was clearly ecstatic as she practically skipped back inside the dressing room. Luz showed off the rest of her outfits, including an adorable bengal tiger onesie she just _had_ to have (she had to wear Willow down with puppy eyes). When was the last time she just cut loose and had fun like this?

“Alright, your total 41,500 Glimmer, buuut after applying my ‘special discount’...” Her gaze lingered on Willow for just a moment. She clicked the register a few more times. “34k flat.” 

“Thank you very much.” After Willow handed over her Glimmer, Crystal walked the group out. She paused by the door. “It’s really nice to see you again Wills.”

“Y-Yeah. You too Crystal.” The pair stared at one another for a bit before Willow tucked some hair behind her ear. She opened and closed her mouth in contemplation about what she wanted to say, but gave a small sigh. “Have a good one.” Willow smiled and gave a kind wave before she jogged to catch up to the rest of the group. 

~~~

The trio left the store with Luz’s new purchases kept in a neat box. She used her Guardian powers to store the item in her belly, feeling some of its weight added to her womb as it pushed out a few inches further. All of their tummies had time to shrink back a bit, so while Luz was still a bit larger than normal, she was able to move about relatively easily.

Despite wanting to enjoy the ‘new clothes smell’ some more, Luz had swapped back into her Hunter gear since it would save time. She gave her belly a pat. “Gotta love this Transmat stuff. Even if I can’t do the quick change like you guys yet, it’s still really convenient.”

Willow hummed in agreement. “Totally. It’s nice not having to worry about carrying a purse unless it’s for show, or needing actual working pockets.”

“Best to not take in too much though or you can’t move all too well. I’ve made that mistake once.” Gus chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. 

“Tell me about it.” Willow said with a playful elbow.

“Hey! It helps to be prepared.” Gus answered with a nudge of his own. “I mean _how_ many glasses do you carry around just in case?”

“Touché.” 

“On another note…” Luz said with a sly smirk as she homed in on Willow. “Don’t think I didn’t see that....”

“See what?” Willow replied with a raised eyebrow.

“You got the hots for a girl in uniform, don’t you?” Luz teased in a sing-song voice as she somehow got even more smug.

Willow’s ears shot down as her face turned red yet again. “Th-That’s...I-I mean…”

Luz let out a laugh. “It’s alright. I can see you two working out.”

“You really think so Luz?” 

“I know so! She was totally sending some good vibes back in your direction! Just get in there and go for it!”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her for two months now.” said Gus as he crossed his arms over his belly. 

“Look, can we save my love life for AFTER our match tomorrow? Please?” Willow said sternly despite the color of her face and the desperate surrender pose she made with her hands.

Luz and Gus both giggled. Luz put a hand on Willow’s shoulder. “Alright alright, but this conversation isn’t over young lady.”

“Whatever. Gus, how much time have we got left?” Willow asked.

The boy checked the timer on his forearm. “I say we still have time to swing by the Gunsmith before heading to the training field. We can practice till 9:30pm, get dinner at the buffet before it closes, and still get a full night’s rest.” Gus said as he set his multiple alarms.

“So as long as we’re quick that’s a little under 6 hours of training, that’s good. We’ll just have to make each of them count.” said the glasses wearing girl. “Best to have someone look over your guns Luz. The cheap stuff is useful, but always has a chance of breaking down at the worst times.”

“That makes sense.” Luz said as she wrapped an arm around Willow’s shoulder again. “I’ll follow your lead, Fireteam Leader!”

Willow smiled, feeding off of Luz’s overwhelming trust and confidence a bit. “Thanks.”

~~~

The population around the main courtyard had thinned out from earlier in the day. Luz already remembered where the Gunsmith was located, and made her way over to a booth with a logo of 3 bullets on the back wall. 

While she didn’t see the blue Exo from before, the girl with the giant hammer was still there. She wore a similar uniform to Crystal, only hers was blue with hints of yellow and tied into a knot on the side to expose her entire belly. Instead of long pants, this girl seemed to be content wearing the tiniest of shorts imaginable comboed with a rather plump posterior, both of which got a blush from Luz when she came to that realization. The lower half of her legs were covered in metal greaves and boots, almost like she stepped into the shoes of a knight. 

Similar to Boscha and Willow, she was rather well built with strong looking limbs despite being a bit chubbier. A metal plated hammer with a long handle and an intricate design clung to the girl’s back, almost like it was held there by a magnet.

At the moment, the girl had her head and shoulders deep inside of what looked like a shipping crate. 

“Excuse me!” Luz called out.

The girl popped her cranium out from within the box. She had long black hair tied in thick braids, tan skin with cute freckles, pointy ears, and large bangs that covered her eyes. Luz noted her deeply Southern accent. “Oh! Well Howdy friend! Whatcha be lookin’ for?”

“I was hoping to get my weapons looked at. We have a Crucible match tomorrow.” Luz motioned to her friends, who waved at the girl behind the counter.

“Oh so you guys are the ones scheduled to tussle. I see ya finally got yourselves a third.” said Tabitha. “How ya two holding up Gus and Willow?” 

“Oh you know, same old same old. Boring missions and Boscha being Boscha.” Gus said with a shrug of his shoulders. While he didn’t get as much heat from it all as Willow, the boy had his fair share of unwarranted shoulder checks from the three-eyed girl.

“Well best o’ luck to ya. Boss is in back workin’ on one of his little projects he likes to do, so I’ll give your boom sticks the good once over.” The girl pressed a few buttons on the console near her waist, and three glowing panels appeared on the counter. A section of the counter in front of Luz lowered halfway down, flashing an obvious crimson light. “Just rest your cute tummy on the red square and I’ll do the rest. Oh, and I’m Tabitha by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Tabitha. Call me Luz.” 

The Hunter let out a grunt as another Guardian stepped in her way. He was an adult Warlock in glimmering silver armor with an equally flashy Ghost floating nearby. 

“I have a mission and I need to upgrade my auto rifle.”

“Uh, excuse m-?!” Luz scoffed.

Tabitha raised a hand to quiet Luz. Her smile never faltered as she turned her attention back to the man. “Sorry good sir, but I am mighty busy with these here customers instead.”

“Then get someone else to assist me, preferably Banshee-44.” The Warlock said. “I do not have time to waste!”

“Well aren’t you precious? Sorry but Boss is mighty busy too. My girl Snilldara can definitely help you .”

The man groaned and ran his hand down the front of his face. “Fine. Go get her then.” 

Tabitha simply smiled as she reached behind her back. With a single graceful twirl the weapon came to rest at attention by her side with a distinct clang. She tapped the pole on the ground twice. The hammer’s head doubled in size as the handle got even longer, to the point where it was at least twice its owner’s height. By the look on Tabitha’s face, she didn’t have to say a single word after that for the guy to get the message.

“I’ll...come back another time…” the warlock said before making a quick exit.

“That was honestly really cool.” said Luz as she watched Tabitha return the weapon back to its original place. 

“Well sometimes it helps to use words, and other times actions are needed.” Tabitha smirked. “Plus, us bully hatin’ folks have to watch each other’s backs. Kinda beat me and Snilly here to the punch new girl.”

It took a while for it all to click, but it had to be from this morning. Luz blushed a bit before she tossed a shy glance to Willow. The latter put a hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Well I for one am glad that there are still plenty of good people around.” said Willow.

Tabitha nodded. “Darn tootin’. Now go right ahead Luz.”

Luz placed her stomach over the red square until it flashed and beeped. The platform rose up to gently cradle her womb, temporarily removing the weight off her feet. 

Luz’s hand cannon, shotgun, and grenade launcher all appeared in different blue squares across the rest of the countertop. Diagrams and charts appeared around each weapon as Tabitha held them one at a time. She snapped them apart and slotted the parts back together with ease, tweaking pieces here and there with her hand tools. 

“Well it looks like your gear is well maintained. The Hakke is a little worn but really solid, and the other two are practically brand new. You shouldn’t have any issues for a good while.” Tabitha explained. “What kinda Mods you want?”

Luz blinked owlishly for a moment. “Mods?”

Tabitha giggled. “They’re like upgrades for your guns. Make ‘em shoot faster, carry more ammo, pack a better punch, even cause people to explode when ya shoot ‘em in the head. Stuff like that. Most guns already come with a trait or two built in. For example Vladolf guns have drum mags with a ton of bullets. The better the gun, the more mods it can hold on top of that.” 

Tabitha pressed a few keys on the countertop. Luz’s Hakke Test-A lit up purple while her remaining weapons lit up blue. The former had 3 empty squares floating around it while the latter only had 2 each. 

“Take your Hakke for example. It’s what we call a Legendary, an above average rank gun. The other two are rare models, there are other guns like Exotics and stuff, but we can talk about those some other time. Each gun type can only support certain Mods, and once a Mod is set it cannot be easily removed without a hefty price tag. Pick wisely now.” Tabitha explained. She leaned against the side of the booth and gently massaged her curved stomach. 

Humming to herself in contemplation with a hand to her chin, Luz browsed the options. She only had a little Glimmer left to her name at the moment, and told her friends on the way up that she wanted to make these purchases herself after they so graciously pitched in for her wardrobe. Thankfully a lot of the cheapest mods were around 500 Glimmer each, well within her tight budget.. 

“So just pick what I want and you’ll…” Luz flashed some finger guns. “...put it on my _tab_?”

Tabitha’s smile lowered ever so slightly, but it was barely a beat. “Ya know I remember when that joke got a belly laugh out of me… around the 30th time I heard it.” 

Luz got the message. “Oh...heh...my bad.”

The black haired girl waved it off. “Aww shucks, don’t get your britches in a twist over it. Water off a fluffy duck’s back.” 

Luz nodded before she went back to checking over her weapons. She noted how much power her hand cannon had behind it, but also it’s capacity to go even further. “I’ll take the Backup Mag and Rangefinder upgrades for my Hakke, Auto Loading Holster and Hip-fire Grip for my Omolon shotgun, and the Sticky Grenades Mod for my Grenade Launcher.” Luz said after going over the different perks.

Tabitha nodded. “Sounds good. Just give me two shakes of a squirrel girl’s tail.” She grabbed some parts out of various drawers and got to work. 

After another 10 minutes, Luz’s weapons were ready. She paid for the upgrades and waited patiently for Tabitha to check out Willow and Gus’ gear as well. Luz was even able to get access to a weekly sales app that she downloaded through her Ghost Link, and played around with the wishlist function. 

“Bye! Thanks again Tabitha!” Luz said with a wave goodbye as she left with her friends.

“Thanks so much!” said Gus. 

“Thank you!” said Willow.

The hammer wielding girl replied with a wave of her own. “Y’all don’t be strangers now!”

As Tabitha wiped down the counter and her shift came to a close, her shoulder muscles ached after a hard day’s work. Her phone let out a gentle chime, and the voice from the other end left a dusting of pink on her cheeks and boosted her mood almost instantly. “Howdy Sweetie Pie!…Mhmm….Yeah I miss you too love…you and that cute caboose...” Tabitha cooed as her pointy ears began to happily flap. She picked up her bag and waved goodbye to Banshee on her way out. 

“Yeah Cousin can be such a lazybones sometimes….uh huh...yep...Say Sweetie Pie? You off tomorrow morning?” Tabitha’s sweet grin widened even more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Another day, another chapter. Feel free to comment with any questions or ideas. If you guys are interested in seeing art of Luz and the others, let me know.


	5. <Art> New Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not an official chapter, but I couldn't help drawing some of the cast for this story a while back. Might make some remastered versions down the line and tweak the proportions a little, but I like how they came out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Again WARNING, POTBELLIED CHARACTERS AHEAD!! If you aren't interested and just want to continue on, or are in a public setting, then click the link to the next chapter below. Otherwise enjoy and let me know what you think. Interactions are the fuel to my creative gas tank.
> 
> Skip to next chapter -> [Link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252928/chapters/72051006)

Today will be the 3 main girls in their Guardian gear, minus their helmets. Enjoy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  


Got a favorite out of these three? Got a character you're itching to see next? Let me know down in the comments below. 


	6. Wings of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amity heads on a mission to reclaim something she lost. An ally gets more than what they bargained for after meeting a strange enemy.
> 
> (WARNING: This story contains characters with round bellies and forced expansion. If that's not your thing then turn back now.)

While solitude was a bane to some, Amity was content with it...mostly. She had her moments like anyone else would. However the girl had learned a long time ago that when push came to shove, the only person you can rely on was yourself. When working on her own, there were less variables to consider. Less room for error.

Still Amity knew even her power had limits, and would allow allies to accompany her from time to time. Usually it took the direct orders of Ikora Rey, head of the Warlocks, or Lilith Clawthorne, her 2nd in command. Amity had a high level of admiration for both women. They had earned their titles, won their battles, and would selflessly continue to do so as true Guardians.

_Guardian._

That title brought out both the good and the bad from the back of the girl’s mind. She pressed a few buttons on her ship’s console, allowing the vibrant tones of music to comfort her somewhat. The synthesized delight that was Glitch Saber did it's best to drown out the persistent insecurities for a while. Blight found it a bit strange though. She would always have something playing in the background on these trips, something to...distract her from the deafening silence. From the void, voices of the past would always whisper to her. Setting music had been so automatic, like many of the choices she made. 

Now though, even this auditory balm only did so much anymore. What changed? What was different now?

A certain voice, a bright smile, a laugh. Some predictable yet still chuckle inducing puns. A pair of chocolate colored ey-

 _Nope. Nope. NOPE._ There went her stupid heart again. No distractions. Stick to the plan, the routine.

_Routine brings perfection._

Ok, maybe it would’ve been better if she went back to whatever that _previous_ thought was about.

Amity grit her teeth and focused on her breathing. Maintaining calm was the key to solving any problem. Amity learned that both by the word and example of the Warlocks before her. If she went down that dark mental road again there would be trouble. With a click the ship was on autopilot, steady like an arrow unaffected by gravity.

The girl brought out her auto rifle, hand-crafted by the artisans of the SUROS Corporation. She leaned her seat back just a little and used the protruding mass that was her bloated stomach as a makeshift table. Simply holding the weapon in her arms, checking each part with meticulousness, brought her a small fragment of peace in some way. Like if the gun’s parts were in order, so was her life to an extent. 

Her nerves spiked a bit as the music sharply cut, giving way to a gentle beeping sound that signaled an inbound communication. Amity quickly gathered herself before answering.

“Blight, do you copy?” said a female voice.

Her own voice came out calm and controlled. “This is Blight. I read you loud and clear.”

“This is G3. Are you on route to the rendezvous point?”

“Affirmative. Had to take a little detour on my last mission, but I will be touching down shortly.”

“Good. My scout just came back with some information. I think it’s best we speak in person.”

“Understood. Over and out.” Amity said before ending the com. She set the ship back to manual before increasing speed and diving past the clouds. 

The call came from the Cosmodrome, not too far by jumpship from the European Dead Zone where The Farm was located. While the latter was full of lush forests, the former was more of a wasteland with some extra greenery depending on the area. 

Once she was above the drop zone, Amity teleported out of the cockpit. She transferred Light from her womb to her feet, and pushed down towards the open air. Her ship automatically ascended once more, waiting in the safety of the skies for its master to call upon whenever needed. Her momentum immediately slowed and the girl floated gracefully down the remaining 7 meters. 

“A balance of power and grace. That’s a Blight for you.” said the voice from the call. 

Amity did a 180 at the sound. Another female, a New Light based on her childlike height and uncovered bloated middle, was leaning against a nearby tree. She wore Hunter garb that was mostly blue and red with white accents. Her body was mostly shades of green with blue marks that resembled tattoos on her round face. Her head of short orange hair, a hologram of the same hue took that spot. 

Her left arm however was covered in black cloth with a set of whitewashed bones. A spine ran up the outside of her arm and a bird-like skull rested on her shoulder.

“Young Ahamkara’s Spine…” Amity muttered. “You’ve been busy Gwyne-3.”

The Exo loli scanned Amity with her glowing green eyes. The spines on her left arm actually moved when the girl flexed her hand. “Yes. Just got it recently. Quite a useful little tool for us Gunslingers.” She turned headed down an embankment. “Come, walk with me.”

The crimson clad Warlock caught up to Gwyne-3 with little effort. “What did you find out?”

“There have been some rumors about one of the Freelancers matching the description you gave me. An Exo with long green hair, light cream chassis, golden eyes, very tall and beautiful?”

Amity stepped in front of Gwyne-3. “So you’ve seen her then?! Is she alright?!”

Amity heard the rumors about Freelancers. It was a broad label for any Guardian that didn’t work directly under the Vanguard. Some were hired by private corporations. Others did their own thing in the wilds, preferring to live their eternal lives with no strings attached or rules to hold them back. When dealing with one, it was a coin toss on whether you had a potential hero or a deadly assassin on your hands.

Thankfully, the one she hired was the former.

“Calm down Blight. We haven’t found her yet, but we’re close this time. You’ll get your Glimmer’s worth.” Gwyne-3 said. She gave Amity’s tummy a comforting pat.

Amity tensed up for a moment at the contact, but recovered quickly. She knew it was a long shot, but the chance that she could reclaim a part of what she lost long ago was too good to pass up. 

“Apparently she has been quite mobile, to the point where even I’ve had a hard time keeping up. We finally caught her trail again recently since she has been hovering around the Cosmodrome for quite a while now. Not sure what she’s after, but I believe it has something to do with The Vex.” Gwyne-3 explained as they started walking again. 

Amity looked to Gwyne-3. “The Vex? I thought they mostly stayed on Io.”

“They do, but apparently a small number of them have been seen on Earth recently. No idea what that means but everyone’s been keeping their ears to the ground.” said the green Exo.

The pair continued on until they reached a small makeshift camp hidden in a cave. There were a few sleeping bags by the wall, a few storage containers with some items on them, and a heating unit in the middle that resembled a futuristic camping lantern. Sitting on top of one of the bags was a young looking boy clad in Titan armor. 

“The scout I mentioned.” Gwyne-3 motioned to Amity. “Hiroki Nakamura, meet Amity Blight, our client.” 

The boy stood up. Based on his light blue skin tone and glowing eyes, he was one of the Awoken. He had short brown hair and wore sturdy gear with army green camo design. As far as size went, he was a bit on the taller and leaner side compared to the others. “Nice to meet you. Call me Hiro.” He extended a hand in good faith.

Amity shook his hand. Being how tall she herself was (at least compared to other New Lights), It had been some time since she had to tilt her gaze upwards someone with a tummy as permanently round as hers. Her voice was polite and respectful. “Same. You can call me Blight.” 

“Good. Now pack up and let's get moving.” Gwyne-3 said. Hiro nodded before the pair divided up the remaining camp items amongst themselves, storing them in the magical subspace of their tummies. 

They all hopped on their Sparrows and took off, the hunter Exo taking the lead. They covered ground as quickly as possible before finally coming up on a run down complex on an old spaceport. 

A dozen or so metal carcasses of once great machines lay dormant and silent as leftovers from a once great period. How many people enjoyed trips to the stars as one would a car ride to the beach? More than Amity could dare to fathom.

Hiro opened a com link between them. “Alright, one of my sensor beacons picked up an energy signature that matched our target. It seems like she entered that complex over there. However, I’ve noticed an increase in Hive activity in that area.” 

The titan boy pointed and added a marker on his teammates’ HUDs. Near the South entrance to the complex was a group of insectoid like bipedal creatures carrying strange looking firearms. The smallest (around the height of a New Light) were Thrall, weaponless infantry that relied on high speed claw attacks. Around them were the more orange/brown colored Acolytes, adult sized humanoids with glowing green eyes and otherworldly energy pistols. 

Finally a pair of muscular 12ft tall Hive Knights touted heavy grenade launchers. They were closest to the entrance, which was sealed up tight with chains and large magical runes. 

The Hive, as they were collectively called, were an incredibly ancient race of undead-like aliens that worshiped and served the Darkness. 

“Odds are we’ll have to go through them first.” said Gwyne-3. She looked to Amity. “Would you like to take charge on this?”

“Are you sure?” the warlock girl asked.

Gwyne-3 nodded from behind her helmet. “Yes. This is your mission after all.”

“Thank you.” Amity stood tall and used her transmat powers to bring her weapon to bare. “These monsters believe in survival of the fittest, Sword Logic or whatever they like to call it. Let's remind them who's really in charge.” 

Gwyne-3 smirked and stood up as well. With a twirl of her hand a silver a black pistol appeared. Her [Hawkmoon’s](https://www.destinypedia.com/images/thumb/4/4c/Destiny-Hawkmoon-HandCannon-Angle.png/1200px-Destiny-Hawkmoon-HandCannon-Angle.png) chrome barrel glittered in the sunlight, showing off the feather etchings along its side. “I concur.”

Moments later a Thrawl’s chest was shredded by bullets. Its nearby brood mates whipped their heads around to see three small but powerful charging figures. Screeches filled the air as the dangerous insectoids dashed forward to meet their quarry. 

“Hiro take the left! Gwyne the right is yours!” Amity commanded. Her eyes narrowed on a towering Hive Knight as the girl picked up speed. “I’ll take the center!” 

“Right!” her allies responded in unison.

A bolt of energy from the left, the whoosh of a grenade from the right, but Gwyne-3’s movements were too quick. She jumped through the air multiple times like a jackrabbit on steroids. With each shot, her Hawkmoon shined brighter and brighter. Smaller Hive fell at her feet as the magazine got lower. 

On its last chambered round, the feathers of the barrel shined and hovered out from the firearm. She could feel her exotic’s energy overflow, rewarding her accuracy. She slid under gunfire and took aim, letting the target come into focus before her mechanical finger curled on the trigger. 

She let out a breath. “Paracausal Shot.”

Time seemed to slow as the space in front of the barrel collapsed a pressurized sphere. The hand cannon kicked back in her grip like a bronco, and a hawk’s piercing cry ripped through the air as the supercharged bullet tore through an Acolyte who ducked behind a fallen aileron wing. The insectoid let out a final shriek as the darkness in its soul burst outwards and its body dissolved into nothingness.

Hiro took high ground on one of the ships, getting a better view of the battlefield. More thrall appeared and quickly took notice. They sprinted forward and leapt up one after another, making them easy targets for the Titan. 

“Rally Barricade!” He dug in his feet and crouched, throwing forward a small but mighty barrier. The waist high wall of opaque energy produced a powerful aura that flowed into his rifle. Despite the near endless wave of minions, he continued to pull the trigger without fear as the gun’s magazine was instantly refilled each time.

While most Titans loved an up and close melee, Hiro took pride in his gun skill. Despite not needing to save rounds behind his makeshift cover, he even strung together multiple kills with a single bullet as often as he could.

“Well that was easy enough!” The boy said as the final Hive Acolyte that came his way fell to pieces. “How are you doing over there Bli-” Hiro stopped as he looked over at the entrance. All he saw was a broken wall, the scattered smoldering remains of at least twice the Hive he tore apart, and a few seconds of crimson clothed loli butt sashaying into the complex.

“Whoa.”

“Told you she was the real deal. Now, get your tongue off the floor and c’mon.” said Gwyne as she dashed into the entrance. Hiro just shook his head and gave chase. 

The two followed Amity towards an open area that looked like a factory assembly line. The belts and mechanical arms were covered in cobwebs from centuries of neglect. 

A strange whine emanated from all around them. “What was that?” said Hiro.

Moment’s later a large mechanical being teleported into the room. It looked like a floating, snake-like creature with a set of rotating rectangular shields. It focused on the New Lights with its single glowing orange eye. It’s body was a bright cobalt that really stood out. 

A chilling aura enveloped the immediate area. Amity had felt this feeling many times before. Whenever a truly dangerous foe made itself known, it’s inner darkness would blanket those around them, smothering their Light. While it didn’t weaken Guardians much, the Darkness Zones as they were called did a number of things besides instilling fear in weaker warriors. One of the most dangerous being a severe hampering of a Guardian’s respawning capabilities. There were plenty of overconfident Guardians who fell to such demonic entities and never returned home.

Still, they had a job to do.

“Vex Hydra. Not like one I’ve seen before.” said Amity as she pondered for a moment. 

_Strange, these things usually fire immediately._ The loli Exo thought to herself. _Why hasn’t it…_

From her spot behind the others, Gwyne-3 noticed a faint glow from beneath their feet.

“Look out!” Gwyne-3 yelled as she dashed forwards and shoved both of her allies out of harm’s way.

Walls of light trapped the Exo girl in a cube with a golden orb at the top. A tendril shot out from the orb at her, forcing her to try and retaliate with a hidden knife, before it found its way into her posterior of all places. 

“Eeep! H-Hey!” Gwyne-3 squeaked. A shiver went up Gwyne-3’s spine as a cool silver liquid started flowing down the clear tube towards her. She tried to cut and yank out the invasive wire, but nothing worked. 

“Gwyne!” Amity and Hiro called out. Hiro tried shooting the cage from the outside, growling in frustration as his bullets harmlessly bounced off.

Gwyne-3 groaned as the glowing substance was forced into her body. Her pants became tighter with each passing moment thanks to her already bulbous backside becoming larger and rounder. Her gut took most of the brunt of the growth, easily approaching double its size. The blue metallic bolt that was her navel started to sink into her soft synthetic skin as her gut sloshed towards the other side of the cage she was confined in.

“Uuuh...G-Guys?” the poor Exo moaned. A cute blue blush now evident on her face. She tried reaching for other weapons, summoning a grenade, anything. Unfortunately her mind was overrun by the sensations that intensified with each inch she gained. 

Amity and Hiro took cover behind some conveyor belts as the Hydra peppered their area with it’s explosive plasma blasts.

“L-Little...ooh my...Little help p-please?” she squealed as her arms became a bit thicker and she fell on her soft butt. Her body practically wobbled like jello for a few moments after she landed, and the Exo tried (and failed) to not express her feelings audibly. 

“Hold on Gwyne!” Hiro called out as he fired at the Vex Hydra with his sniper rifle. It kept teleporting and blocking bullets with its energy shield, much to the boy’s chagrin. 

Whether it was the shared embarrassment to the plight of a fellow female or morbid curiosity from the Exo loli’s sensual expressions of pleasure that sparked something within her, Amity didn’t have time to dwell on her own rising emotions. The Warlock gave her head a quick shake and focused on that blasted Hydra.

As it continued to evade, Amity’s eyes widened as she picked up on something with each teleport.

“One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. It’s a pattern!”

“What?!” Hiro called back as he chucked a Pulse Grenade. The projectile shot out powerful waves of Arc energy as it collided...with nothing but the far wall. “Dammit!” 

“It’s not responding to our shots! It’s moving in a pattern in response to where we aim!” 

“Where we ai-? Oooooh! I see what you mean!” Hiro smirked and swapped his sniper out for the [ Party Favor ](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/destinypedia/images/1/1d/ROI_B-29_Party_Favor.png/revision/latest?cb=20160924234655) Pulse Rifle. It had a bright orange and blue body with a boxy scope.

“Ricochet Mods?!” 

“Yes M’am!” 

“Good! Let ‘em have it!” 

Hiro took aim at the Vex Hydra, letting it teleport once more before he let loose a hail of bullets at a wide angle. The energy charged rounds collided with the walls of the room, bouncing at sharp corners every which way. 

Amity tracked the Hydra’s movements again, seeing that they were now slower and much more predictable. She swapped to her own red sniper, but didn’t take aim. She didn’t want to trigger the machine’s defenses. 

Their Exo companion could only wait in her chamber, drowning in a myriad of different emotions as her girth strained against her outfit. Each cheek of her already large backside had ballooned to the size of bean bag chairs, curvacious and soft as they pushed up against the side of the box. Her mammoth middle creaked loudly as it transformed into a taunt sphere that 3 fully grown adults could fit into. 

“D-Dammit ...so big...ugh…” Clear oil, her species’ sweat equivalent of sweat, leaked out of her skin as all Gwyne-3 could do was pray that her body could keep itself together, yet at the same time fight the urge to keep growing further and bigger. Red and yellow warning symbols flashed in her vision as literal alarms blared in her cybernetic brain. Any longer and her systems would start to seize. “S-So f-full…too f-ull...gck...” 

Eventually Amity caught the faintest flicker of familiar orange light out of the corner of her eye. With merely a glance, she brought her gun to bear like a pro at a skeet shooting competition and fired, landing a shot in the Hydra’s glowing eye and stunning it.

“It’s weak! Take it down!” Hiro called out. Amity didn’t have to be told twice as the two unloaded their magazines into their foe. It’s mechanical joints seized up before it erupted in a blinding explosion. 

Once the Hydra was gone, the cage around Gwyne-3 shattered and the overfilled Exo fell onto her back with a grunt. The force of the impact sent ripples through her entire body.

“Oooooh... _hic…_ ” the poor girl groaned. Her strained stomach was easily as big as her body. “Thought I was...ugh...gonna pop…My... _hic_...elasticity matrix is...maxed out...”

“I dunno, would save some time having to roll you back to HQ.” Hiro said with a chuckle.

Gwyne-3 did her best to shoot a glare at the boy, but really couldn’t do much since her gigantic middle covered most of her vision from that side. “Ha Ha, I will...ugh...pretend I didn’t hear that.” She grunted hard as the Exo loli tried in vain to at least roll herself over. “Get me up already!” 

“Are you alright?” Amity asked as they helped Gwyne-3 to her feet. 

“I’ll admit I’m happy I sprang for the extra stretch fibers. Only a few tears. My previous garb would’ve blown clean to pieces.” she grunted. “Along with the rest of me if that had continued any further...”

“Strange trap though. First time I’ve seen something like that.” said Hiro.

“You and...urp...me both.” the Exo grumbled. She gave her belly a rub. “Must’ve been filled with Radiolarian Fluid or something similar.” Her poor tummy gurgled. “I’m gonna...oof...gonna dump this…” the girl muttered in embarrassment as she waddled off on her own for some privacy.

“I guess our target must’ve bolted then, especially after all that ruckus.” said Hiro. The boy checked his weapon before storing it in his belly.

Amity hummed in agreement. “Most likely. Still I’ll take a look around just to be thorough.”

“Fine by me. I’ll go make sure Gwyne-3 is alright, from a safe distance of course.” the Titan said as he sauntered off in the same direction as his synthetic ally.

“Let Gwyne-3 know you’re both free to go back.” Amity called out on comms, getting a wave from the Awoken in return before the latter stepped out of sight. 

A part of Amity was grateful to not be in such a state. Sure her enhanced body could probably handle just about anything forced into it, and while Amity thought about being a little curvier now and then like the models on tv, she would prefer not to look like she had a date with a sentient garden hose. Not to mention other Guardians have described popping as ‘amazing, right up until every atom from your body decides to see other people ’. 

She moved on to various other rooms, storing whatever useful scraps she could in her belly while being efficient and not dawdling too long in any one place. As she waddled down a hallway, a shadow zipped past her vision. The Warlock gave chase, following the footsteps but barely missing the figure around each corner. The trail ran cold near one of the heavily damaged generator rooms.

“Hello?! Is anyone there?!” Amity yelled. The girl only got silence as a response before she noticed a faint glint on the ground not too far from her.

Amity crouched, reaching past the side of her belly to snatch the object from the ground. It was round like a coin, but big enough to fill her entire palm. She noted the broken circuitry on the back, but what stood out was the insignia on the front. Amity could recognize that broadsword with a cobra coiled around it anywhere. 

“Father’s crest…?” 

Feeling eyes upon her, Amity scanned the room once more. Her gaze rested on a figure standing high above on a broken hole in the side of the building. 

She was a tall New Light with light colored synthetic skin, glowing yellow eyes with ink black sclera. Certain parts of her skin were blue; especially her pointed ears. Her rich blue cape hung down past her ankles. Her armor had mixes of blue and brown, but also white below her kneecaps. 

Despite all these differences, the Warlock girl could recognize her anywhere. Even the hard light braid of ‘hair’ that fell down the Exo’s back was a similar shade of green. 

The Exo’s eyes locked with her own for what felt like the longest time. Amity couldn’t read an ounce of emotion across the other girl's features. When Amity opened her mouth to force some words out, the Exo turned and vanished in a flicker of light.

“Emira…” Amity muttered under her breath. 

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Amity glanced down at her arm, seeing a name familiar to her flashing steadily across her gauntlet's AR interface. She held a finger to her helmet. “You have quite the sense of timing Boscha. What is it?” 

“You done with that mission already?” said the tri-clops over the comm link.

Amity looked at the spot where that familiar Exo had once been, letting out a light sigh. “For now at least...”

“Good, then get your big Blight butt over here! The great LORD SHAXX has invited us into the crucible tomorrow!” The other girl’s excess volume caught Amity off guard for a bit, until she remembered how much of a fan Boscha was. Amity even had to talk the girl out of getting a tattoo more than once. Boscha didn't just drink the Titan Koolaid, the kid grew gills and swam in the stuff while chugging it at the same time.

She pondered a bit. There were no new missions lined up for her at the moment. Most likely it will be the same as before. She shows up, says hi to a few people, and wouldn’t have to do much aside from watching her teammate flex on some weaker Guardians as Boscha’s honorary third. Maybe she could relax with a good book or something between the occasional demand for a Healing Rift.

The girl shrugged, despite knowing Boscha couldn’t see it. “Whatever.” Amity muttered. She ended the call. After reconfirming with the others that the mission was officially over for the time being, Amity called for the Comitatus and transmitted out. The tired Warlock decided to take a short nap inside her ship and let the auto-pilot take her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A little trip with Amity this time. While the story will lean more towards Luz than anyone else, I'm not going to stick to a Steven Universe style "Luz Perspective". The world should be alive enough that things happen whether our Hunter protagonist is there or not.


	7. Finding Your Light Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz, Willow, and Gus prepare for the Crucible. Luz also learns more about Willow.
> 
> (WARNING: This story contains characters with expanded bellies. If that's not your thing then turn back now.)

Luz tucked and rolled to the side as energized projectiles ripped through the air just past her head. Willow’s advice echoed in her mind as she bolted through the tree line just outside the walls of Bonesborough.

_Hunters are light on their feet Luz. Use that to your advatnage. Move fast. Shoot fast._

Her hand cannon gripped firmly in her palm, Luz turned on a dime and fired. A pair of shots collided with a humanoid target’s chest as she continued forward.

From either side, Luz teammates (now temporary opponents) kept pace. Gus fired at her with his Eternal Blazon scout rifle. Being an energy class weapon, the bullets it launched exploded in tiny but potent Solar rounds.

Under normal circumstances having your friends shoot at you was a horrible idea. Blight had explained resurrection to Luz a while back, but the pain was still all too real. A few marks on her side had time to heal, but she still silently cursed herself for her carelessness.

Now Luz was 100% focused. She fired back with her hand cannon, but Gus had rightly made distance his ally. Luz’s shots lacked the stopping power they needed because of it, even with her recent upgrades.

With a flick of her wrist, a razor sharp blade left her free hand and sunk deep into the neck of another target. It beeped twice before it took off a chunk in a small explosion.

Luz was about to mentally pat herself on the back before a figure appeared in her periphery for just a moment. Luz had a solid idea who it was, and gathered as much as Light in her hand. She focused hard on the image of a flaming pistol in her mind, burning bright like the sun itself, but the energy simply fizzled out between her fingers once again.

“Mierd-AHH!” the latina yelled as a violet shield collided with her side, knocking the wind out of her. Luz quickly found herself careening to the unforgiving Earth.

“You gotta be much faster than that Luz.” The Titan girl smiled as she extended out a hand.

Luz groaned and chuckled as Willow easily hauled the girl to her feet. “Can you blame me Willow!? I had no idea you could even move like that!”

The dark blue haired girl gave a simple shrug. “Titan Skating. Some people say it’s unfair, but those people don’t know what they’re talking about. Let's take a bit of a break you guys.” Willow said over the coms before taking off her helmet.

The trio converged on a log near the edge of the training field, just in case another group came by while things were quiet and started blasting without checking first. Luz sat in the middle and watched the clouds roll by. Gus was drinking water off to her left while Willow was on her right.

Despite how calm the day was, the Latina couldn’t seem to quell her nerves. Luz’s gaze traveled to her stomach. She could feel the warmth within, but she couldn’t shake this odd feeling that something felt...off.

Willow watched as Luz had her Ghost Link pulled up, swiping at the screen for the next five minutes or so. It was odd that the usual chatterbox of the group was silent for so long.

“Something wrong?” Willow asked.

Luz flinched before she closed the screen. “N-Nothing…”

“Come on Luz. You can talk to us, we’re a team remember?” Gus said with concern in his voice. The Hunter’s overall mood as of late had been obvious to him as well.

Knowing she was outnumbered, Luz let out a sigh. “It’s just...I dunno, I’ve been trying for the last few hours to use a Super.” Luz pulled out her screen again, showing her friends the image of a potbellied Hunter boy with his right arm raised to the sky. There was a flaming revolver in his outstretched hand and a matching aura around his entire body.

Gus was quick to identify it. “Oh yeah, that’s the Golden Gun. All New Light Hunters with Solar Light should be able to...Wait…”

Willow’s eyes widened alongside her Warlock companion. “You can’t use Golden Gun?”

Luz looked off in the distance for a moment before producing a smile that didn’t quite reach her ears like it usually would. “W-Well maybe it’s not that bad? I mean I’m still new to this whole Guardian thing. Maybe I’m just a late bloomer or something? I know I need some more practice.”

Willow adjusted her glasses. She knew Luz’s other skills were decent at best, but this is the first time she’s heard of a Guardian who couldn’t use a Super right out the gate. Now that she put more thought into it, Luz’s Light was always dimmer than others. Softer even. “Right. Well maybe if you see we use our Supers, it could help.”

Luz rolled the thought around in her head. She really wanted to believe this is all just some kind of hiccup, a bump in the road so to speak, on her way to being a New Light even Blight would notice. She nodded before Willow got to her feet again.

Willow motioned for Gus to get up as well, the latter of which moving a bit farther from Luz than Willow did.

Luz could feel the Light emanating from her friend’s bodies as it intensified along with the actual glow of their stomachs. Azure blue and radiant violet seemed to dance through the very air itself.

“The unbreakable wall: Ward of Dawn!” Willow threw her arms out on either side of her body. A beat later a circular wave of bright violet energy shot out from Willow in all directions, passing through Luz painlessly before it formed into an opaque purple dome around both her and the Titan.

“Ride the current: Stromtrance!” Gus’ body erupted in a cloak of cerulean energy. Bolts of lightning shot out from his fingertips towards Willow, and by extension Luz.

The raw lightning clashed against the dome, scattering sparks in all directions and sending ripples through the barrier.

“Whoa…” said Luz once the fireworks ended and Willow dropped her Ward of Dawn. Gus smirked as he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead.

“Pretty cool right?”

“That. Was. AWESOME!!” Luz cheered as she threw her hands up. Unfortunately she also threw off her sense of balance. Her arms flailed wildy before she slid off the log and fell on her back behind it. “Ow…”

Willow watched as Luz picked herself up and went over to them. “Like I mentioned before, New Light Witchlings can even enhance their powers into new abilities. Even new Supers.” She put a hand on her hip. “But since you’re a human we won’t focus on that for now. So, did you pick up on anything?”

Luz thought back what just happened. She felt enveloped by the energy her friends put off, even some of Gus’ despite being inside Willow’s barrier. Despite being a demonstration, she could feel their drive and their will plain as day.

The latina looked to her friends before she stepped forward. The warmth in the tummy grew as she concentrated. Gentle rays from the sun kissed her face, bringing the girl into a new sense of comfort and control.

“I can feel it...I think…maybe...” Luz muttered softly as she reached out.

Her belly gave off an orange light that traveled up her entire body and collected in her hand. Willow and Gus were sure Luz was about to have a breakthrough before the girl winced and bit her lip as if she was in pain. The magic flickered before her hand shot back from a weak pop of smoke and her aura fell away.

“¡Maldito! ¿Por qué no funciona?” the dark haired girl growled with a fist full of hair in each hand.

Her friends were by her side in an instant. “It’s ok Luz, we’ll just have to work without it. You can still use your other abilities right?” Gus asked.

Luz calmed down just a tad and gave a nod in response.

“You just need to hang on long enough while I take down Skara, and then I’ll help you against Boscha.” the boy explained.

“No. I mean…” Luz started to reply. She paused before taking a breath to smooth out her nerves even more. “Only if you can. Don’t rush on my account.”

Willow put her helmet back up. “Now, let's go back to running the gauntlet a few more times.”

~~~

Their training continued well after the sun went down. They each took several turns running the gauntlet. Willow mimicked Boscha’s fighting style as best she could for Luz, thankfully without the insults. Sure she couldn’t throw exploding hammers, but the glowing purple balls of death that were Willow’s Magnetic Grenades packed a serious punch. Luz’s chest was still feeling that double explosion.

Her arms were sore, her chest ached, her ankles cried, and her lower back screamed. Even with all that, Luz felt a small sense of accomplishment as she walked off the mock battlefield. Whatever happens now, that’s up to fate or destiny or some other third thing to decide.

With each step back into the city, Luz could feel her visible injuries seal themselves up. Her healing factor had slowed considerably, which made sense to her given how much of a beating her body took and how much energy she expended. The fireteam members that trudged beside her were not far off, having taken plenty shots and grenades from Luz as well. Her aim was good, as to be expected of a Hunter, and Luz even noticed that her senses seemed sharper now that she had time to hone them.

In the back of her mind though, Luz felt it still wasn’t nearly enough.

Gus turned to the others as they stopped beside an apartment building. “Well this is my stop. I think I’ll just order delivery or something. Goodnight Willow. Goodnight Luz.” he said while looking at each of them specifically. He tried to hold back a yawn, but failed miserably. His friends yawned in response.

“Have a good night Gus.” Willow replied. “We’ll all meet up in the hanger before 6am, by the Transit Station.”

As the two girls moved onward, a realization popped up in Luz’s mind.

The girl stopped dead in her tracks. Her hands clawed at her hair. “Wait, where am I gonna sleep?! I don’t think I have enough money for a hotel room!”

Willow facepalmed. “Right...The offices are closed at this hour, so getting your assigned housing is a no go. I completely forgot.” She moved her hand to her chin. “Hmm...well I have a couch you could crash on if you want. I’m sure my roommate won’t mind if I explain things to her."

Luz let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank the Traveler! You’re a saint Willow.”

“It’s the least I could do. We can see if there’s a room for you somewhere after this whole mess is over with. Although you’ll have to pitch in for dinner tonight. I kinda went over budget a bit this week…” The girl pushed her fingers together in embarrassment.

“Oh you can take all the Glimmer I got left. Whatever helps.” Luz said without hesitation. “I’ll work extra hard to pay you back. Whatever the mission.”

Willow giggled. “I might just hold you to that. C’Mon, my place is literally a block away.”

Willow led Luz to a similar apartment building Gus went into earlier. The doors were noticeably wider, almost too wide in a way, but it made sense given how massive their bellies were at the beginning of the day.

Many of the newer complexes that were built for New Lights were like this. There was extra care in keeping the shelves from being too high and making sure there was always a little extra space to move. Although Willow did mention a time where three Warlock kids got jammed in a single door frame for over 2 hours. How that actually came about was anyone’s guess.

The main area of apartment 3G was equal parts plain and homey. The common area with a simple tv and couch was off to the left, a small kitchen was off to the right, and a hallway to the bedrooms and bathroom was just beyond that. There were little knick knacks and plants that filled up the empty spots here and there. Just past the couch was a storage container and a covered screen door.

“Welcome to my home sweet home.” said Willow. She spread out her arms like she was showing off a new car at a game show.

“It’s pretty sweet Willow.” Luz breathed in deep. “And it smells really nice.”

“Oh that’s Remora and Kikesh, they are both Swamp Lilies. Smell better than their name implies.”

Luz followed Willow as she went over to one of the doors and cracked it ever so slightly. Her tone was gentle and soft. “Hey Leena, you awake?”

After a few moments, a figure in that bedroom gave a light groan and sat up on the bed. She was an older girl with messy ginger hair and bright eyes. Her feline ears twitched as she focused in on Luz and Willow. Mostly the former.

“Who dat?” the girl muttered in a husky voice.

“Luz, part of my fireteam. She just needs to crash on the couch for the night if that’s alright with you.”

“Whatever. Don’t care….” Leena yawned and waved the others away, bearing her obvious fangs. “Still got some hours before work...Don’t be too noisy....” the feline muttered before she curled back under the covers.

Willow gently closed the door. “Leena. She’s a bit of a grump, but otherwise is pretty cool. Works at a bar.”

“Ok then. I’ll be on my best behavior. So, what’s a girl gotta do to get some food in here?” Luz grinned while happily drumming her stomach.

“Let’s see here…” Willow pulled out a stack of menus from a kitchen drawer and shuffled through them. She paused on one for a place called Wobble Wok. “Are you in the mood for some Chinese?”

“Depends, do they still have General Tso’s in this crazy future?” Luz responded with a raised eyebrow.

Willow laughed, but cut it short when she remembered they had to watch their volume. “Oh definitely, it’s really good.”

“Then yes puh-lease and thank you times a hundred.”

Willow nodded and dialed the number to the restaurant. While she normally was against calling 30 minutes before close, the now fully active black hole in her obvious center of mass had other plans. She placed her order with the woman who picked up on the other line. Willow ordered what Luz was craving along with a few plates of Shrimp Lo Mein for herself.

Once she hung up, Willow took a seat on the couch by Luz as they waited. The duo chatted amongst themselves a bit and watched some tv before their food arrived. Willow transferred over her Glimmer (along with what Luz tossed in) including a tip. She happily shrugged to the delivery guy as Luz practically skipped away with her plates humming a joyous tune.

The steam off the first savory meal container had Luz’s mouth watering instantly. Everything from the sauce to even the bed of fluffy white rice that the meat sat on pulled her in. A half day of sweating her butt off will do that to a girl.

Her friends were right. While the cafeteria’s buffet had good food, this was delicious. Each bite was tender and slid down into her throat with ease. The white rice was steamed to perfection and so fluffy she swore she was eating a warm cloud. Even the greens were crisp and refreshing on the tongue. Before Luz knew it, one of her plates was empty and her hands already popped the styrofoam top off the next one.

“Soooo good...” Luz couldn’t help herself as a moan of delight slipped past her lips. She paused only to let a cute little burp before diving right back in.

Willow swallow and let out a sigh. “Food just tastes so much better after a hard day’s work.”

“You said it Hermana.”

Willow paused mid slurp of her noodles before swallowing again. “Hermana? What does that mean?”

“It means…” Luz blushed a bit and glanced off to the side, choosing to take a sip of her cola before answering. Maybe she was overstepping a little, or just getting inside her own head. “...Sister. Too much?”

Willow couldn’t help but smile. Clearly Luz was just an openly affectionate person. Quick to bond and trust others. A little naive of course, but very sweet. “Not at all…” Willow shook her head before she copied Luz’s finger guns from earlier that day. “...Sister.”

The brown eyed girl’s smile brightened before she gleefully returned the gesture. It wasn’t long before the 6 plates between the two girls were licked clean. In Luz’s case, her last one literally was. What? Girl was practically wasting away.

Luz let out a content groan as she rubbed her stomach. It wasn’t nearly as bloated as it was that morning, but man did she feel satisfied. “URRAPP! Heh, excuse me. Been holding that in for a while.”

Willow responded with a belch of her own. “Urrrp! Excuse me. So, you almost ready to turn in for the night?”

The Hunter girl nodded, her eyes already half closed. “Uh huh, I can sleep like a fat happy log.”

“Same. I’ll get you a pillow Luz.”

Luz stood up and stretched, willing herself to go a bit longer. “It’s fine Willow. Just tell me where it is and I’ll get it. I might as well shower too while I’m at it. Mama’s kinda ripe...”

“Sure. You can find the extra pillows and stuff in the hallway closet, and I have an extra toothbrush as well in the drawer by the sink.” said Willow.

“Thank you...” Luz replied. However instead of moving towards the short hallway, Luz sat back down sideways to allow her tummy some extra room. “...but I can wait. You’ve been so good to me all day Willow, you can go first. I insist.”

Willow was about to politely argue, but the ‘I insist’ combined with Luz’s warm smile more or less disarmed her. Willow sighed but smiled back before she waddled towards her room for a change of clothes.

After about 20 minutes or so, Willow returned from the bathroom. The girl wore a plain brown tank top that showed off her athletic arms along with most of her tummy, a pair of comfortable green pajama pants with the Vanguard logo all over them, and a pair of aruba blue slides on her feet. Overall, the young woman looked calm and content.

“Well I’m done. Have at it Luz, I made sure to save some hot water for you.” Willow said as she made her way past the couch to the small balcony out back. Luz caught a glimpse of a bunch of greenery as Willow went through the screen door.

Luz nodded. “Thanks Willow.” Luz passed the hallway closet for now, deciding to get the pillow and other items after she was fresh and clean, and entered the bathroom.

The room followed the aesthetics of the rest of the apartment in how plain it was. Luz even felt some of that ‘function over form’ vibe when she came through the main lobby earlier. It was simple yet sweet on the eyes, with chrome fixtures and dark painted metal.

She noticed a green toothbrush on a paper towel left out on the opposite side of the sink compared to the other two, clearly left behind by Willow for Luz to use. She smiled, made sure the door was locked, and shed her outfit to begin the process of getting clean.

~~~

Luz hummed to herself as she stepped out of the bathroom fresh as a daisy. She dried off her short brown hair with a pink towel and left it tied around her head for a bit longer to get more of the remaining moisture out.

While part of her wanted to try out the onesie, Luz decided to rock the other cute outfit her friends got for her first. The girl sported a blue short sleeved top with the words “Dream Big” on the front in sparkling letters and a pair of long dark lilac pajama pants that became a lighter tint past her knees. The blue slippers that protected her feet from the cheap and cold floors was a last minute addition Crystal tossed in, and Luz was thankful for the comfort around her toes.

“You look nice.” said Willow once the other girl made her way into the common area. Willow was gently adding some water to some of the indoor plants.

A light layer of pink appeared on Luz’s cheeks for a few moments. She made her way closer to her friend. “Thanks Willow. You really like gardening huh?”

The other girl hummed in agreement. “I really do. I like exercise, meditation, even stargazing sometimes, but tending to nature has always been calling even during my old life with my Dads.”

Willow moved across the room to a taller plant this time, one that Luz could best describe as something close to a baby palm tree, but with a trunk so orange one would mistake it for a weird carrot. Willow traced a glowing circle in the air, wrapping the plant in a gentle aura as she watered it. Its once droopy leaves started to perk up quite a bit. The plant itself even began to twist and turn as if it was a person stretching after waking up from a nap. It curled towards Willow and gently stroked her face with its leaves, its caretaker returning affection with a few scratches on it's brightly colored trunk.

"Wow. First time I've seen a plant do that. Outside of like, a Venus Flytrap maybe. Those things don't move this much though." said Luz. 

“Don't worry Luz, Sadriko's a sweet girl. She wouldn't hurt a fly, even if she was part flytrap." Willow chuckled. "When ground up and put into tea, her leaves are a cure for indigestion and headaches. Best to use them when they fall off naturally, but her species shed their leaves monthly regardless of the weather." Willow reached over and guided one of Luz's hands towards the plant's branches. After they made contact, the plant froze for a beat before it responded happily to the human's soft touch. It was almost like playing with an infant...if the infant had no eyes and lived in a pot of course.

"Aww, she likes me!" Luz cooed as she continued to caress the plant's upper body. "Such a cute widdle planty..."

Willow couldn't help but blush a bit, she averted her eyes to the folliage. "Sometimes during my off days I help out this nice lady across the street with her garden. She's got more space to work with. We’ll tend to the plants, then sell both the herbs and natural medicines to the people for reasonable prices. Sure medical technology has come a long way, but it is still expensive for some in the poorer districts. Plus there’s just something about mother nature that can’t be replicated.” Willow glanced back at Luz and shrugged. A part of the Witch's face still gently cradled by the affectionate greenery. “At least, that’s what I believe.”

Luz looked up and couldn't help but be a little in awe. In that moment, Willow had a level of contentment that brought a bit of extra warmth to her own heart. The human couldn't help but stare into those emerald orbs for a bit before she reminded herself that Willow's heart pointed elsewhere. She herself even said she was supportive. “Well that’s really nice of you Wills...I-I mean Willow. Maybe I should do something similar.”

“Don’t push yourself too much right away Luz. All of us Guardians do plenty for the Last City just by protecting it. I’m sure whatever you’ll end up doing on your own time will be good, even if it’s just a hobby for yourself. I mean for me it just all started with a single flower on the windowsill.” said Willow.

Hair free from its cloth prison and dry enough now, Luz snatched a green pillow and sheet from the hall closet. She made herself comfy on the couch, finding it easier to relax on her back than she thought. She giggled slightly at the sight of her belly cosplaying as a round green hill. "You know I'm not sure if I can get used to this..."

"Used to what?"

"This." Luz gave her stomach a poke. "Like of all the things I fantasized about in my old life, being this round was the last thing on my mind. That and all of this too..." The human motioned in every direction with her hands. "The magic, the fighting, the different kinds of people. I barely saw a few Witches back in the day when I was smaller...pun intended..." Luz joked, getting a small snort out of the plant loving Titan. "...but never actually spoke to one. Now there's witches, cat people, dog people, slime people, and whatever else just all over the place intermingling with each other. Spaceships and laser guns and all of this other cool tech too. It's wild."

Willow nodded. "I know the feeling. I've been alive again for what, 3 years now, and I'm still experiencing something new. I don't know why The Traveler decided to bring us back, to transform us, aside from fighting The Darkness. All I do know is that I'm grateful for another chance after the Collapse." Willow up a hand over her heart, her eyes lost in the thought for a moment. "I'll always miss my Dads, but I know wherever they are, they're watching out for me."

"Yeah. I miss my Mami too. A lot." Luz muttered. The emotional wound was still somewhat fresh as Luz remembered her solemn promise to go back to that highway someday to give her mother the funeral she deserves. If she could do so without falling apart again, that would be great. Luz features became downtrodden and the sparkle behind her eyes dimmed, which Willow quickly picked up on.

"But hey, you know I've got your back from now on. If Gus were here he'd agree. We'll always watch out for each other." Willow said with a small smile.

Luz couldn't help but return one of her own. “Definitely. Thanks again for all this Willow. I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow.”

“Wellll... I mean it wouldn’t be _so_ bad for you to come over every now and then. Sometimes Gus is busy with one of his projects. Leena works nights and we don’t really hang out much anyway since she isn’t a New Light, let alone a Guardian. Which isn’t a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. We respect each other’s spaces at least.” said Willow.

The corners of Luz’s lips turned up even higher. “Well I’m always up for a sleepover if you are. Maybe we can invite Gus and all just hang out with some snacks and movies.”

Willow nodded. “I’d like that.”

Luz went smug again. “And maybe we can also invite Cry-”

“Good night Luz.” Willow interrupted with an eye roll as she passed the couch.

“Good night Willow.” Luz snickered. Even in the low light she could tell by the shade of Willow’s face that her little jab was a success.

After the gentle gardener turned out the lights, Luz let out a long yawn. There was still a bit of glow through the curtain in the room thanks to the city outside that never seemed to sleep, but Luz had survived much worse. She reached under the covers and gave her tummy a pat. A faint glow emanated from her midsection before a familiar ring popped into her hand. Luz held it up and out in the open, taking in the sight of the glimmering accessory. "Hope you're watching over me too Mami. Te quero."

Luz placed a small kiss on the ring before teleporting it back into her magical inventory. Another yawn slipped out as her eyes soon grew heavy, and the Hunter slowly drifted off to dreamland.

~~~

The next day came a little too soon. Willow got up just before her alarm. After a nice stretch she exited her room and found Luz splayed out on the couch with her limbs in different directions. She couldn’t comprehend how anyone could sleep in such a way, but Luz’s light snores said otherwise.

A few gentle nudges failed. A few harder ones also failed. Willow had to eventually resort to smacking Luz in the face with her own pillow to finally get the Hunter girl to rise. They shared a light breakfast of fruit, instant oatmeal, and some eggs.

After getting suited up and ready, the girls met with Gus on their way to LT Station. It was a short trip on the public shuttle to Arena 10, as Shaxx requested the other day. The ride was rather peaceful as they jetted over the city skyline.

Luz leaned over the shorter Warlock boy’s shoulder. Gus was currently skimming through his Ghost Link’s touchscreen. “What’cha lookin’ at Gus?”

The boy smiled. “Since we still got a bit of time I figured I’d go over the map of Arena 10 once more.”

“Oh yeah. You showed me this yesterday.”

“Yep. It’s a pretty well balanced area. Some of the older Crucible locations were found to be advantageous for whichever team got Alpha or Bravo positions to start the match. This is especially true for Control matches.” Gus pointed to a flashing blue and red square respectively.

“Control? So is that what we’ll be doing?” Luz asked, getting a shrug from Gus in response.

“Beats me. It’ll be up to Lord Shaxx.”

“Yeah. One time he even changed his mind mid match just to keep the crowd on their toes.” Willow chimed in.

Gus tapped is chin in contemplation. “Oh yeaaah. The 3-way match between Fireteams Lumocity, Platinum Lords, and Left4Preg.” Gus crossed his arms over his stomach and shook his head. “I agree with his call, those guys were just camping and waiting for their Supers. Totally boring.”

“I agree. Plus half of them were just holding swords the whole time next to corners. What was up with that?” said Willow.

“I know right? Now the match between RosesArePink and ByTheNumbers, _that_ was worth watching. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.” Gus checked his screen again and turned it so Luz could see it easier. “So anyway Luz, Arena 10 is still one of the newer battlefields. In fact it was first completed around 3-4 months ago. I checked the net before going to sleep last night, and there were some rumors that it was built near some ancient ruins.” 

Luz watched as Gus pulled up a strange yellow icon. It was a large circle that enclosed a triangle and a few other shapes. "Many people believe that it has something to do with this symbol here, and other strange runes like it. Nobody has figured out what they mean though. Not yet anyway." Gus explained. 

Luz gave a playful grin with her hand on her chin. “Oooo. Shall we see if we go on a spelunking adventure?”

Gus’ eyes sparkled. “Yeah! Maybe we could find some ancient historical artifacts?! Or Golden Age weapons?!”

“Or fancy jewels?!” Luz said with equal excitement. “Or crazy magic stuff! Or…”

“Alright alright guys! Let's calm down.” Willow said. “We can do all that afterwards. Right now, eye on the prize.”

Luz chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry Willow, got carried away there.” Luz got comfortable in her seat and watched the world go by once more, trying to clear her head in preparation for the battle to come. Soon the shuttle touched down in an open field, and the trio made their way up to the arena.

“Ahh, you have finally arrived!” said the large Titan as he watched the three child warriors approach.

Willow stood at attention and saluted, prompting the others to do the same. “Fireteam Rainforest reporting in!”

Shaxx nodded. “Very good! Your opponents are already inside! This match will be single round Elimination! No revives! Winner takes all! When the horn sounds, go out there, and don’t hold back!”

“Sir yes sir!” the trio said in unison as Shaxx pointed to a door behind him with a large crucible icon on it. They each shared a look before they activated their helmets and summoned their weapons, marching forward as a unit.

“How are you holding up there Luz? You ready?” Willow asked. The young Titan checked the magazine of her blue and orange auto rifle, the Origin Story.

Luz gave a small sigh, but kept her composure. Her aim with her hand cannon had improved somewhat, but there was a colony of butterflies playing tag in her stomach. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Just follow the plan like we practiced, and hope for the best.” said Gus.

Willow and her team went through the door and onto the field. Arena 10 was one of the smaller Crucible zones, barely larger than a football field, but there were plenty of broken walls and boulders that allowed for cover. The right side was a man made mountain covered in real grass, and made a rather obvious vantage point over most of the field.

Standing in the middle of the field were their opponents. Even from a distance, Luz could feel Amity’s aura. The girl wasn’t even trying to be intimidating, like Boscha was clearly doing, in fact Amity looked more or less bored based on how she carried herself. Still, Luz had to consciously move one foot in front of the other. The two groups finally converged with a healthy gap between them.

“About time you dorks showed up! We’ve been waiting for hours!” Boscha teased. Skara’s eyebrow raised at the sound of that flat out lie.

“Seems like something you’d do…” Willow grumbled more to herself than anyone else.

“Willow.” Amity said flatly.

“Amity.” Willow replied.

“Gus.” Gus said jokingly, who surprisingly enough got a snort from Skara.

Amity’s gaze shifted to Luz, noting the mostly purple outfit. “I see you finally picked up a third...”

_The tummy seems kinda familiar, but it...no. It couldn’t be..._

Luz stood her ground as Amity approached her. “Consider this a friendly warning new girl, whoever you are. Be careful around Willow, lest you regret it.” Amity said with her arms crossed.

The purple Hunter looked over to Willow. At first it appeared like she was about to speak up, but paused. Despite not seeing her face, Amity could tell the girl was contemplating something. Blight watched as the girl removed her helmet.

Short dark brown hair fluttered in the gentle wind, rich chocolate eyes locked in on her. The crimson clad Warlock found herself hit with that same friendly, yet confident, smile.

“I think I should be the judge to that.”

“W-Wait...Luz?!”

The Latina giggled. A sound that made the Warlock's heart flutter ever so slightly. Her grin a bright as the sun. “Hola Amity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As always, comments and constructive feedback are appreciated.


	8. <Art> More New Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This time some pics of Gus, Boscha, and Skara respectively for those who are interested.

Again fair warning about potbellied characters, so please skip to the next chapter if that's not something you're interested in -> [Next Chapter ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29252928/chapters/73097121#workskin)

If you like cute tums, here are some more New Lights. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Barnes and Harroway are not Boscha and Skara's last names, just placeholders. If the show gives them canon last names I'll rework them.


	9. Finding Your Light Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle goes from bad to worse. Luz comes across something special.

_‘Hola Amity.’_

That voice echoed in Amity’s head. Making her have to gather herself behind her mask once more. She had to admit, the shorter girl looked good in her Hunter gear. Purple was definitely her color.

Amity cleared her throat. Despite once again having to deal with that strange language that Luz often dipped into, Amity had a solid guess what the younger Guardian was talking about. “Hello Luz.” she said with confidence.

Boscha stepped in. “Wait, you _know_ this baby faced dorkwad?”

Luz frowned and straightened her posture while trying to look tough. Sadly her slightly puffed out cheeks weren't helping her adorable case, even with the simmering fury behind her chocolate eyes. 

_‘You are so baby…’_ Willow held back a snort. From her angle off to the side, she had to admit the girl exuded far more cuteness than anything else.

Luz opened her mouth to protest, but Amity replied first. “Yes, she was my last Sherpa mission.”

“Wooow, that green?! Hah! Seriously Half-Witch, of all the people who you could’ve ended up with as your 3rd!” the three eyed Titan laughed with her hands on her stomach.

Luz let out a low growl before she walked up to Boscha. “Tough talk for a girl who’s nothing but a belly full of hot air. Bet you just enjoy riding Amity’s coattails all the time.” said Luz.

Boscha’s laughter quickly ended and she glared down at Luz. “Oh? Big talk for such a tiny little Hunter.” she said while holding her pointer finger and thumb really close together. She then cracked her knuckles before pushing past Luz. “Move aside Shrimp. You’re barely worth 2 Glimmer to me.”

Luz wasn’t about to let herself get brushed off. Despite being already a little heated, Luz still kept her head for Willow’s sake. Her getting Boscha’s undivided attention was key. “Right right, wouldn’t want to look bad losing to a new girl in front of your man crush...what’s-his-name...Lazy Shoots?”

The triclops stopped.

“Or was it Lard Sharks…” Luz rested her chin in one of her hands. That cheeky smirk on her face was almost iconic at this point.

A vein bulged on the other girl’s forehead. 

Luz snapped a finger. “Oh right! It was Lemon Shakes!”

A fuming Boscha whipped around, huffing like a Karen who found out the foam in her latte was made with 2% milk instead of the 1% she demanded. 

“That’s LORD SHAXX!!” Boscha raged, causing the human to recoil in terror. 

She would have actually charged Luz if not for said Titan’s voice bouncing across the arena a moment later. “Alright citizens! The first match of the day between Fireteam Rainforest and Fireteam Banshees is about to begin in 5 minutes!” 

Amity motioned for Skara and Boscha to follow her, the latter of which making sure to growl like a rabid dog at Luz before following her fireteam. 

Willow tried her best not to laugh. She knew that look. Luz had Boscha’s attention hook, line, and sinker. “Well done Luz.” Willow said as they made their way to the opposite starting point on the battlefield. “For a moment there I thought she was actually going to explode.”

“I know a fangirl when I see one. Remind me to talk your ear off about Azura sometime.” Luz replied with a wink. She was still a bit jumpy from the confrontation, but was holding herself together well. The chances of Boscha doing anything other than immediately going after Luz’s hide were astronomical.

Once they found starting area Alpha, Luz put her helmet back up as her friends stood nearby and did the same. She noticed some floating cameras about along with some of the audience, mostly other Guardians, filling up seating a safe distance away. 

One of the cameras floated down in front of them and produced a hologram of a countdown. Willow stood in the middle and shared a nod with each of her teammates and once the number hit zero, a horn blared.

“Just like we practiced! Lets go!” Willow called out.

“Right!” Gus and Luz replied in unison. 

The trio dashed forwards to meet their opponents once more, this time with weapons and Light at the ready.

~~~

“By the Traveller what have I gotten myself into?!” Luz yelled as she weaved in and out of a nearby forest. The girl sprinted to the left as one of the trees was ripped apart by a shotgun blast.

“Get back here so I can blow your stupid face off!” screamed a fiery Titan as she chased after Luz. Boscha was mostly hip firing her [Retrofuturist ](https://www.light.gg/db/items/1325579289)Shotgun, but Luz had to admit the girl was still decently accurate. Luz already felt some Void flavored pellets kiss her backside twice already. 

Luz fired back with her Hakke hand cannon, but Boscha countered by summoning a Tower Barricade. The opaque barrier negated the human’s shots, allowing the Titan to dart to the left at a sharp angle before giving chase once more. 

“Stick to the plan. Stick to the plan! STICK TO THE PLAN!” Luz repeated to herself as she continued to run, only turning to fire a few shots before dodging around nearby cover. With each graceful twirl, the Light in her belly would cause her gun to flash for a moment before automatically refilling her weapon’s magazine.

Luz swapped to her Slingshot and fired off a slug, using her own shotgun’s superior range to try and score some critical damage. Boscha saw it coming and merely tilted her head. The slug landed clean in the dirt behind her.

Luz worked the lever on her shotgun to load another round, only to take a few pellets to the chest. Despite not doing as much damage from that range, she still felt the sharp pain of each tiny projectile. Luz fired back again, missing once more before the Hunter slipped out of sight.

The next time Boscha rounded a corner after the crafty Hunter, she heard a sharp beep before a pair of explosive knives lit up her side like fiery grenades. The warm blood on her fingers would dry and the wound would close no problem, but the fact that this...worm...scored a solid hit on her was totally infuriating.

“RRAAAAHHH!! FACE ME HEAD ON YOU COWARD!!”

~~~

Willow glanced over in the direction of that cry. 

She chuckled a bit. Boscha really was a punch first, ask questions never type like many Titans. Willow however preferred a little more nuance at times to balance out the carnage.

“I had a feeling when Boscha immediately went barreling off on her own and Skara chased after Gus, you’d show up.” said a voice in Willow’s helmet.

Willow looked up from her spot near a fallen wall to see none other than the crimson clad Warlock herself. Instead of being in anything resembling a battle stance, the girl was gently sitting on another wall a good 50 meters away, legs crossed under her tummy and reading a book seemingly without a care in the world. 

“Amity.” said Willow. She readied her Origin Story. Despite never fighting the Warlock herself until now, she had seen a few of Amity’s matches, but none of them involved the Warlock breaking into more than a light sweat. Normally a long conversation could be useful to draw things out, but leaning into it too much right out the gate would be too obvious. 

_‘Let's test the waters a bit.’_

And with that thought out of the way, Willow squeezed the trigger and sent a flurry of hot lead in Amity’s direction.

Amity’s feet glowed with orange Solar light before she simply kicked the wall. It cracked as the girl dashed through the air, barely evading Willow’s shots with a graceful flip. Amity even dropped her book and gave her tummy a gentle pat, allowing the object to phase into her abdominal inventory and bringing her sniper rifle to bear before taking aim completely inverted. 

Willow’s eyes widened slightly behind her helmet, but she didn’t let her nerves get to her. She quickly slid into cover before a single shot ripped through the air where she once stood. The Titan girl peeked out and chucked a grenade to where Amity landed to keep the other girl on the move. Firing again and actually scoring some hits on the Warlock’s arm. 

Once she relocated again, Amity’s wounds sealed themselves up in a few brief moments. Being a Warlock gave her serious advantages in certain areas, the biggest being her heal factor. If she pushes through the pain and doesn’t take too much damage at once, her body will swing right back into fighting shape far faster than the other classes thanks to her Light. 

Amity glanced over just enough to see at where Willow was hiding.

“Empowering Rift.” With a hand towards the ground, the girl drew from the Light within her belly. A swirling vortex of pure energy appeared at her feet, adding a matching glow to her sniper. A single trigger pull sent a powerful shot ripping through Willow’s hiding spot, tearing open a piece of her shoulder.

“Gck!” Willow hissed. Warm red blood dripped down the open hole in her armor. She quickly threw up her barricade, catching another round. 

Amity’s voice came through the gardener’s helmet once more. “And here I thought you would actually be a challenge based on your previous battles against Boscha…” she said. “Your Guardian Rank is decent enough, if not on the very low side.”

“Heh, sorry to disappoint you. Not all of us were reborn with silver spoons in our mouths.” Willow replied, allowing some time before her heal factor kicked in. “How many recommendations are you up to now Amity?” 

“Dunno. How many sandwiches can you consume in an afternoon?”

That...actually stung a little. “Ok _harsh_.”

“It’s the Crucible Willow, not one of your cute little sleepovers.” Amity said while she made her way over. She swapped her sniper for her autorifle once more, taking aim at Willow but clearly not viewing her as much of a threat. “I come here to fight _worthy_ opponents.”

“As do I.” The glasses sporting Titan glowed with a bright violet light. She was on her feet now, channeling all the energy she could in that moment. “Thanks for stepping into the ring!” 

With her arms outstretched, Willow formed her signature dome around both herself and Amity. However, because Willow didn’t view Amity as an ally, only the Titan’s body gained a protective aura. Her previous wound had sealed itself up as she stood tall, glaring her opponent down with energy charged eyes.

The crimson Warlock was unimpressed. “I may not be able to shoot you in there with your Armor of Light, but what’s to stop me from walking away from your little ‘ring’?”

“This! Plant Magic: Nature’s Cradle!” Willow drew a purple ring of magic before she shined even brighter than before. The girl then slammed her palms into the ground. A second purple ring appeared, this one larger than Willow’s dome, ornate with Witch rune symbols. Moments later Amity was surrounded by thick energy vines that enveloped the area and forced the potbellied Warlock to walk towards Willow as they closed in from all directions.

Despite being a huge drain on her magical reserves, this was Willow’s best shot at taking on Amity, a technique not even Boscha had seen in their many clashes. Only she knew the extra weeks that were poured into this. There was one time she almost collapsed on the woods from pure exhaustion. Willow trained her gun on the other girl, more than ready to take her head clean off.

Amity looked around with an air of contempt as she strutted forward. If there was one thing Willow knew about Amity, is that the girl was the complete opposite of Luz. While the energetic Hunter wore her emotions on her sleeves, Amity kept everything close to her chest and locked tighter than a shipping container.

“You finally got a hold of your Magic. Not bad.” said Amity, although there wasn’t much authenticity behind the praise. “Wearing me down in here with your indomitable defensive might and CQC expertise is a decent plan, but you made a grave miscalculation….”

“And what would that be?” said Willow. She debated for a moment about dropping her Ward of Dawn just to pull off a shot, but that would drop her buff instantly and Amity was still the faster one by far. Willow even saw the girl make a pair of Hunters look slow in a foot race.

“I’m not trapped in here with you…” Even through the black visor of Amity’s helmet, the glow of the Witchling’s golden eyes pierced Willow’s very core. The air suddenly grew hot as Amity approached the Ward of Dawn’s edge with a sultry swing in her hips, the temperature shooting up as she traced a ring of fire in the air with a single finger. “You’re trapped in here with _me_.”

~~~

“Dammit! Another clone!” 

Moving quickly, Skara continued to lay down fire at the various Gus copies with her [Shepard’s Watch](https://www.bungie.net/common/destiny2_content/screenshots/3312073053.jpg) sniper rifle. After going toe-to-toe with the Warlock boy since the beginning, she was starting to run low on ammo. The nagging feeling in the back of her mind was clear, this wasn’t working. She had to get in close. 

“Now, where are you hiding…?” she muttered. She caught another flash of blue out of the corner of her vision, but the Witchling knew she had to slow down a bit. “Just like Amity always said, ‘smarter not harder’....”

With one jump the girl cleared half the height of a nearby tree, and a second midair jump allowed her to gracefully land on a thick branch that easily supported her weight. She drew a red circle in the air with her fingers, summoning an ornate violin into her waiting arms.

“Bard Magic: Arpeggio.” 

Fingers working the bow with the finesse and class of an expert musician, Skara played a robust chord on her violin. The instrument glowed red with her Witch magic, emitting sonar like pulses that extended her senses in all directions. 

Even with her eyes closed she saw it all, the trees, the winds, the earth, even the insects. What stuck out most were the more sentient beings around her, people full of Light. It was child’s play for her to pick out the blue target shining the brightest in her mind’s eye.

“Bard Magic: Accelerando.” Changing her grip on her instrument, this time the girl played a much more rapid and energetic melody. Skara’s body flashed red before she practically zipped across the battlefield, flickering in and out of a ball of crimson light. The pulsating energy inside her core almost pulled the girl along with such speed one would swear Skara was teleporting. She appeared in the air right behind her opponent.

“There you are~” the girl sang in an almost flirtatious tone. Her violin was instantly swapped for a unique SMG. It was a mixture of red and white with two silver barrels. Gus immediately identified it as a Veist brand based on its shape. The gun’s twin barrels emitted a chilling whine as it started to spin.

“Oh boy!” Gus squeaked before he darted to the left. Skara quickly adjusted her aim and hit him square in the belly. He brought out his scout rifle and returned fire, eventually giving Skara some bullet wounds of her own across her upper shoulder and face.

Skara chucked a grenade before she dashed forwards. The cylinder didn’t explode, and instead produced a plume of thick white smoke that made it hard for Gus to pin down her position. A few vibrant violin sounds later and the girl was right next to him, with the sharp end of a steel combat knife by his throat.

Skara grinned from ear to ear. Her face filled with elation and playfulness. “I win!”

Gus raised his hands in surrender and gulped. He then looked down slightly. He kept his best poker face on as an idea appeared in his mind. “Say is that a new knife?”

The other Witch perked up immediately. Her inner gossip girl was obvious to anyone, and neither of her teammates were the sociable kind. “Oh yeah I just got it off Jeebay since my last one broke. Much cheaper than getting it repaired. Practically got a dozen of them for a steal.”

“And is this ceramic like the last one?” he asked with a slow finger twirl behind the blind spot his gun made.

“Oh no they were sold out of those, I had to settle for a simple iron alloy blen-ah dammit...” Skara groaned as it all clicked in her head.

Gus smirked as he completed his circle. His eyes flashed blue and his entire body erupted with bolts arcing in all directions, especially through the other Witchling’s body. Skara fell twitching to the ground, only able to look at the business end of Gus’ rifle before taking a shot between the eyes. 

What would’ve been a beautiful corpse instead fell away into ashes and dust, leaving behind only a glowing white egg with symbols all over. Skara’s Ghost Remnant rolled on its side as Shaxx’s voice broke out across the battlefield. 

“Skara has been, ELIMINATED!!”

The boy couldn’t help himself and started dancing around. “Go Gus! It’s my birthday! Go Gus! It’s my birthday!” His groove session stopped when he heard more explosions and remembered that things were far from over. 

“Oh no, Luz! Willow!” Gus exclaimed. The young Warlock ran towards the ongoing chaos, remembering that this battle was far from over. 

~~~

Once word of Skara’s defeat was blasted over the airwaves, Luz noticed that Boscha had stopped her attack. The three eyed Witch stood on the opposite end of an open clearing from her human target and shuddered at the thought of even the possibility of them being behind in this fight.

“Skara’s...d-down? Dammit...I can’t lose too...they would...no…no...” she growled, her eyes igniting as she glared Luz down. Moments later, her entire body was doing the same. It was just like how Luz saw Amity after they first met, with a flaming tummy almost as bright a giant furnace. “Worms like you will NOT win!” 

“Roar with Explosions: Sunbreaker!” A resounding CLANG echoed through the battlefield as Boscha traded her shotgun for a one-handed hammer with a short handle and a head twice the size of her palm. Its ornate design defied the raw power that Luz felt firsthand when the thrown object exploded near her. At the last moment, Luz used her Marksman Dodge to rapidly increase her mobility as a Hunter and avoid most of the damage.

Luz bit her tongue as she fought back a scream. Her entire left arm was covered in burns and by the time the kid got back on her feet another hammer was already hurtling towards her. Running on nothing but adrenaline and instinct; Luz dodged again, this time a nearby boulder took most of the damage as she made her way to the rockier part of the arena. She zipped around a bend and stopped in a stone clearing that ended in a flat partition. The wall was too high to jump up, and the lack of hand holds where unfortunate as well.

Her back against the wall, literally, Luz turned to see the burning Titan round the corner. Boscha’s heavy breathing was only countered by the Witches’ devilish cackling. “Nowhere to run now Human.”

The Hunter girl focused hard, grasping at every mote of light her body contained. She could still feel that familiar unease building, like a spring being wound far too tight. Still, Luz had to make her stand here and now.

Boscha took notice of the orange shine in Luz’s eyes. She flashed a confident smirk. “You know what? I’ll give you one, count it, _one_ shot to do something worthwhile. Either grow a pair and try to fight me or crawl to me on your belly and grovel like the loser I know you are. Your choice.” Boscha said. Her flaming aura crackled like a fire pit at a beach party as her grip tightened on the handle of her mallet. 

_C’Mon Noceda! Your team needs you! Time to put up or shut up!_ Luz’s hand began to glow with intensity. Luz could still feel that odd sensation that came about every time, like a group of rowers were some of them were out of sync. There was no time for any doubts however. She held the light aloft. She had to do it this time. She had to. 

“Aim True: Golden G-”

The human’s attempt was cut short with the explosion of another one of Boscha’s hammer attacks. The resulting blast tore open the rocky terrain and sent her hurtling through the debris and toward the gaping maw of the abyss below. Luz let out a scream as the flames engulfed her entire form. Every nerve ending was a chorus of agony unlike anything she had felt before. 

As if the cosmos granted her mercy, Luz’s hold on consciousness faded. Her form fell away to ashes, leaving only a glimmering egg behind that vanished into the dark below. Boscha barely caught the glimpse of her foe’s hand through the explosion along with Luz’s painful wail.

“Ha! Like I’d actually give your stupid butt a chance!” Boscha laughed. The girl then gave a sassy wave. “Bye bye Human.” Boscha chuckled as she stood over the hole. 

The call for Luz’s elimination hadn’t sounded yet, which hampered the Witchling’s mood ever so slightly. Still, even if Luz didn’t get knocked out, the human clearly fell in deep. Luz being absent from the fight after her teammates were taken down would have disqualified her anyway. Shaxx would call for a countdown and that would be that.

“Luz!” yelled a voice behind the fiery warrior. Gus appeared out the tree line after witnessing that massive explosion.

Boscha turned her body slightly, mostly looking over her shoulder with the grin of a blood knight plastered on her face. Her right hand gripped a hammer of flames as bright as her body, while her left hand traced sensual circles on her round belly with a single finger.

“My oh my. So much power left in my tummy and no one to share it with…” 

A trinity of glowing eyes trained on him now, the color fell from Gus’ face. The Warlock boy swallowed hard before Boscha chased after him.

Meanwhile a certain egg tumbled down, further and further down than anyone would have expected before splashing into icy cold water. It rested in eerie silence at the bottom before emitting a gentle pulsing light. It built in intensity before it pushed against gravity as the energy took on a familiar humanoid shape. Luz breached the surface and made her way over, Luz erupted in a serious bout of coughing fits. Once a gallon of water was ejected from her gut, the human enjoyed the biggest few gulps of air she inhaled in a long time.

“Uuugh…” Luz groaned on her knees while clutching her head. She winced as her body ached all over and her mind raced to piece together what happened. It wasn’t long before the pain and discomfort started to subside as her Guardian form repaired itself. “Did anyone see the number of that bus? Ouchies...” 

Luz slowly glanced around as her vision began to adjust. Based on the rocky interior, she must have ended up in a large cavern of some sort. She turned and continued to scan the area, noting how mostly plain it was. Luz suddenly stopped when she caught sight of something massive on the other side of the lake.

Luz felt as if her eyes became bigger than her bloated stomach. Every part of her felt completely fixated on the source of said light…

...and the dazzling symbol it made.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This one took the longest for some reason. Not really burnout or anything, mostly just preparation for the following chapter. Any ideas on what might happen next?


End file.
